True Greatness

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here and we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats, but because we're following Jesus together as one community.

And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good. They don't need God's grace and no one so bad that they can't have it, which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in his word.

We're continuing our series in the Gospel of Mark. You'll remember that the gospels tell the story of Jesus and his life and his death and his resurrection.

And the first half of the book, chapters 1 through 8, we were building up to this climax as we asked the question, who is Jesus?

And Peter finally confesses in the middle of chapter 8 that Jesus is the Christ.

Now that we've established that the second half of Mark is Jesus' journey to the cross,

and now the disciples are not so much asking the question of who he is as seeing what it actually means to follow him.

Remember that Peter rebukes Jesus right after that confession for speaking about suffering,

and yet we find out, we've seen in these last few sections, that that's a critical part of what it means to follow Jesus.

And so they're learning what it means to take up their cross and follow him.

This morning we're going to take a look at the temptation and danger of success and power.

The disciples here are hoping and thinking that as they follow Jesus, their stars in this world are going to rise.

But they're going to end up being terribly disappointed because Jesus has something far better for them.

And so with that, I'm going to invite you to turn with me.

You can turn in your Bible, you can turn on your phone, you can turn in your worship guide to Mark chapter 9.

Mark 9 · chapter mention

No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's Word.

And God tells us that his Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path,

which means that he has not left us to stumble alone in the dark,

but instead he's given us his Word to show us the way to go.

And so that's why we read now Mark chapter 9, starting at verse 33.

Mark 9 · chapter mention

And they came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house, he asked them,

What were you discussing on the way?

Oh, excuse me, starting at verse 30, not 33.

They went on from there and passed through Galilee, and he did not want anyone to know,

for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them,

The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him.

And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.

But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

Verse 33.

And they came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house, he asked them,

What were you discussing on the way?

But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.

And he sat down and called the twelve.

And he said to them,

If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.

And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them,

Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,

and whoever receives me receives not me, but him who sent me.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven, we praise you and thank you again that you speak to us in your word,

that you cut through the lies that we're told by others,

and the lies that we believe ourselves, and instead you show us the truth.

We ask that you would show us the truth this morning about success and glory and power,

that it's something that belongs to you and no one else.

We ask that you would cast a spotlight on Jesus,

that we would see him as more beautiful and glorious than we had before,

that you would grow our love and our affection for him,

and you'd grow our reverence and our awe for him.

And we ask these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

As many of you know, Mark Mish goes to our church,

and he keeps a pretty low profile,

so you may not know who I'm referring to.

He wears the characteristic blue rain jacket when he's here,

no matter the time of year,

and he's tall because he's a runner.

He's actually the running coach at UCCS.

He's out of town.

He's out of the country right now.

In fact, he's out of the country a lot because of his job.

He doesn't just coach at UCCS.

He's also the coach for the Estonia national running team.

So he's in Europe right now.

He's working with them,

and they have a big race coming up in Berlin on August 15th,

so we won't see him for a while.

The first time I ever met Mark was at the Panera down on Southgate.

We got dinner.

I think it was before he came to our church,

but he was checking us out.

By the way, Mark gave me permission to tell you all this story.

I emailed him with this this week,

so don't think that if you share a story with me,

it's just going to randomly show up in a sermon.

Mark knows this is happening, okay?

Fear not.

So I had dinner with Mark.

I'd never met him before,

and as we were talking, he said,

Matthew, you're going to really appreciate this.

Do you know the loneliest place I've ever been?

I couldn't guess, so he told me.

He said, the loneliest place that I have ever been

is in the cafeteria at Olympic Village.

Because when you walk into the cafeteria at Olympic Village,

there are two kinds of athletes.

There are athletes who have competed and lost.

And so as they sit there and they eat,

they're thinking to themselves,

what is next?

Put all this work in.

I've put all this effort in.

It hasn't materialized.

And then you have athletes who are sitting there

and they have won.

They have the medal that they've been working for

and they're actually asking the same question.

What's next?

Because they are learning the hard way

that what they've done did not fill their spiritual hunger,

their spiritual need.

Whether you win or lose,

victory, Olympic medals are an empty hope.

You can be the greatest in the world

and be incredibly lonely.

Greatness and power and success

do not and will not deliver on their promises

because they can't.

That's what we see this morning in this story,

that the disciples are not beyond the allure

of greatness and power.

And of course, neither are we.

And so we pick up this story in verse 30.

We find out they were in Galilee.

Remember that Galilee is where Jesus was preaching

in chapter one.

And so in a sense, there's a homecoming here.

But in the past, Jesus was doing these great miracles

and telling people about the kingdom of God.

But now as we meet him, he has this more private ministry.

He doesn't want anyone to know, verse 34.

Instead, he is spending this private time

alone with the disciples

as he enters this period of instruction

that they would know what it actually means

to love him and to follow him.

But he's teaching them something they don't want to hear.

Verse 31, the Son of Man is going to be delivered

into the hands of men and they will kill him.

We find out verse 32, the disciples don't understand

and they also don't want to ask.

One person says this is probably because

they understand enough to know

they don't want to know anymore.

Jesus is talking about death here

and they've heard everything that they're willing to hear.

Remember back in chapter eight,

Jesus was speaking about the same thing

and Peter rebuked him there.

Here, Peter is smart enough to stay silent,

not bold or brave enough to ask for more information.

It gets worse than that though.

There's a tragic irony here,

this great disconnect between what's happening

with Jesus and the disciples.

Jesus, verse 31, is telling them,

he's teaching them about suffering and humiliation.

And we find out at the very same time,

while Jesus is giving this instruction to them,

the disciples are talking and thinking

about something very different.

They are talking and thinking about greatness and glory.

We discover that in verse 33,

they get to this house that they're headed to,

very likely the same house that we saw in chapter one,

where Peter and Andrew lived.

And he asks them this uncomfortable question,

what were you discussing on the way?

Verse 34, they have no answer

because of course they're incredibly embarrassed.

What they wanted to know was

who was the greatest of all.

Now comical, if it wasn't so sad,

how much the disciples missed the point.

Jesus is here telling them about suffering

and they instead want power.

And Jesus gives us a basic principle

of the gospel in verse 35.

He tells them, if anyone would be first,

he must be last of all and servant of all.

In other words, the way of the world

is to push other people down

so that you can go up.

The way of the world is to push other people down

so that you can go up.

The gospel actually works in the reverse,

the opposite way.

The way of the gospel is to push others up

as you go down.

The way of the gospel is to push others up

as you go down.

But we can understand the temptation

the disciples have here.

It's a temptation that we feel as well,

that we want success,

not out of a desire to serve God

or others or the world,

not to see God's purposes grow and expand,

but instead that we would never have to feel shame

and weakness and vulnerability ever again.

That we could always be powerful

and independent and never need others.

We would be always wanted

and never rejected.

And of course it comes from this place

of great insecurity

that they're grasping

to find their significance somewhere.

It takes a lot of security

to push other people up.

You might say it takes a supernatural security

to try to do that

rather than fill a bottomless hole.

I'm going to do something

I haven't done before

and I'm going to speak to you all

a little bit differently

than I have in the past.

There are certain things

that you can't say

until you've been with a congregation

for four or five years.

And you know,

I came here in the June of 2017,

which is a little over five years ago.

And some of us have been

through a lot together.

We've bled together.

We've cried together.

We've faced a lot of challenges together

as a church.

And so I say this out of my love for you.

Some of you, many of you

are working so hard

to fill up,

to make up for what did

or didn't happen

when you were a child,

to fill up

what you maybe didn't receive

from your parents

or your family.

And some of you are striving

so hard inside

and outside of the church,

striving to fill something

that you're not going to be able to fill,

grasping for affirmation.

And I want you to know

that that makes me sad

and it makes me sad

because I want you to know

the love of God.

The Bible tells us

about how great

the love of God is.

Romans chapter five

says it was while

we were still sinners

that Christ died for us.

So there's nothing

that you did

to earn God's favor

or his approval.

Not only is there

nothing that you did

to earn God's favor

or his approval,

Romans chapter eight

tells us there's nothing

you can do to lose it.

There's nothing

you can do

that will separate you

from the love of God.

Remember what we saw

in Mark chapter three

when Jesus first called

the disciples,

what did he call them for?

What was the purpose?

He called them

to be with him.

And then he spends

the next three chapters

working with them

before he ever

sends them out.

I've told you guys

many times before

and I'll tell you again

once you have any

power or wealth

in this world

you quickly know

the difference

between people

who are interested

in you

and people

who are interested

in what they can get

out of you.

Have you ever

been with someone

who thought

your presence

was enough?

that it was enough

just that you were

there with them

and they didn't need

you to perform

for them.

They didn't need you

to deliver things

for them.

They just wanted

you there.

Remember I've told you

many times before

that the disciples

got many things wrong

and they got one thing

right.

And the one thing

right is that they

kept following Jesus.

The other side

of that coin

is that they got

many things wrong

and Jesus stuck

with them

which means

that their presence

was enough.

Brothers and sisters

when it comes

to Jesus

and his relationship

with you

your presence

is enough.

love.

You cannot

earn more

of God's

love.

You do not

need more

greatness

or success.

And you might

be wondering

why in a sermon

about success

and power

we're suddenly

talking about love.

And the answer

is this.

We are only

safe

from the

temptation

of power

and success

when we're

secure

in the love

of God.

We are only

safe

from the

temptation

of power

and success

when we

are secure

in the love

of God.

You have

to find

security

or significance

somewhere.

You're going

to try

to fill

that hole

somehow.

and power

and status

will always

be alluring

until we

realize

there's a

better

source.

We're going

to go

somewhere

to fill

that hunger

and that

emptiness

and one

of the sad

realities of

life is that

people will

eat poison

before they

starve.

Know the

love of God

for you.

Lord is my

shepherd.

I shall

not want.

Thomas

Chalmers,

a Scottish

pastor in

the 1800s,

wrote this

book called

The Expulsive

Power of a

New Affection,

which is a

fancy way of

saying you

can't get rid

of an old

love until

you have a

new love.

I'm going

to translate

this to you

into single

man speak.

It's hard

to get over

your old

crush until

you got a

new crush.

Hard to get

over power

power and

success until

we realize

we have

everything we

long for

in Christ.

What power

and success

offer us,

they cannot

deliver.

God,

Jesus,

can and

does.

know the

love of

God.

Let the

love of

God be

greater and

more alluring

and powerful

than power

and success.

Jesus

doesn't

just

call them

out on

their conversation.

He also

gives them

some positive

teaching about

what things

actually look

like in

his kingdom.

Verse 35,

he calls a

family meeting

and decides

it's time

for some

teaching.

He says

this,

if anyone

would be

first,

he must

be last

of all

and servant

of all.

Then he

decides to

have an

object

lesson here.

He takes

up a

child.

Some

people

think

this

child

might

actually

be

Peter's

child.

Remember

there in

Capernaum,

which is

in Galilee,

we know

from chapter

one,

this is

the place

where Peter

and Andrew

live.

We know

that because

Jesus raised

Peter's

mother-in-law

from the

dead.

So there's

a chance

they're still

in that

house and

he's taking

up one

of the

disciples'

children.

He says

to them,

whoever

receives

one such

child in

my name

receives

me.

And

whoever

receives

me

receives

not me

but him

who sent

me.

Now there

are many

places in

the Bible

that talk

about being

a child.

This is

talking about

receiving

children.

They're

related but

they're

different.

What Jesus

is saying

here is

that

greatness

in my

kingdom

does not

come from

caring about

greatness.

It comes

from welcoming

children.

And children

here are

this symbol

of people

who can

offer you

nothing.

Welcome

people who

can't help

you.

Welcome

people who

can't do

anything for

you.

Welcome

people who

might be a

net negative.

Say no

to the

status games

of the

world.

have

room,

have

space

for the

people that

the world

finds

awkward and

inconvenient

that they

find to be

a drain

and in

the way.

I said

earlier I

moved here

in 2017

and when I

did I was

27 and

I turned

28 very

shortly

after.

I just

turned 33

this past

week and

so I'm

younger than

most of

you which

proves that

God has a

sense of

humor.

But I

want you to

know while

I'm younger

than many of

you if not

most of you

I brag

about you

and I brag

about this

church like a

proud parent.

Someone asked

me recently

what it is

that I love

about Cheyenne

Mountain and

I said what I

love about

Cheyenne

Mountain is

that Cheyenne

Mountain is

an island of

misfit toys.

We are not

a church of

beautiful people.

We are not

a church

I also said

look if you

come to our

church there's

going to be a

place for you.

Our people

welcome whoever

comes in the

doors.

They welcome

whoever.

There's no

cool kids

club at least

as far as I

know.

If I find out

there's a

cool kids

club I'm

going to be

very offended

because no

one has

invited me.

There aren't

these highly

curated friend

groups where

it's like we

have figured

out who the

cool people

are in the

church and

we're going

to only hang

out with

them.

Some of

you all

are super

weird.

Okay.

And you

have a

super weird

pastor.

And God

has brought

us together

as a

family of

blessings

that he's

given us.

You be at

churches

sometimes right

before the

benediction the

pastor will

say something

I've never

said before

which is make

sure you greet

someone new.

You know why I

never say that

before the

benediction?

Because I

don't need

to.

I know that

no matter who

walks into our

church you all

are going to

welcome them.

I know and

we could tell

some stories

okay.

I'm not going

to.

Some of you

have been here

for some

things.

I know just

come up with

whatever stereotype

you want.

Whoever doesn't

fit in the

most.

I never have a

question in my

mind about

whether Cheyenne

Mountain is going

to go and talk

to that person.

I am so

proud of

you.

When I

think of

that fills

me with joy.

Some of you

are very

wealthy.

Some of you

are very

successful.

Some of you

are both.

I also told

this person

you know we

have a lot of

successful people

in our church

and they

don't use

their wealth

and their

success to

hide their

failure and

their mistakes.

I've watched

you all over

the last five

years take

care of people

who can't offer

you anything in

return.

I've watched it

happen over and

over.

I say all

these things to

you not to

pat us on the

back, not as a

place of self

congratulation.

I've told you

before there's no

self congratulation

when it comes to

the gospel.

We're never

congratulating

ourselves.

We're never

patting ourselves

on the back.

That's different

though than

encouragement.

It's different

than saying I

see God at work.

Continue.

Keep doing what

you're doing.

Our church has

plenty of

weaknesses.

Believe me, I

know about

them.

We've got our

own things that

we can grow

and we've got

our own sin

patterns.

There are things

we can learn

from other

churches.

What I want to

tell you today

is when it

comes to this,

keep on

keeping on.

It is a

biblical category

to name what

is good and

to say, keep

it up.

Revelation

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2,

there's the

letter to the

churches and as

this letter comes

from Jesus

Christ, he names

as a church

has a strength.

What it is.

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1, one

of the most

underrated verses

in the Bible,

Paul is writing

to this church

and he says,

I don't need to

write to you to

tell you about

brotherly love

because you

already know.

You're already

doing it.

And so he ends

it with this

important phrase,

verse 10, we

urge you brothers

to do this

more and more.

In other words,

Paul knows

there's ways

they can grow.

He knows there's

probably ways the

church has not

fully lived up

to it, but he

doesn't come

forward to them

and say, hey,

and here's the

ways where you're

sinning and you

really need to

level up.

If you guys have

been here, you

know, you know

that I'm always

pushing us towards

greater and more

holiness.

I want us to be

moving forward as a

church and there's

also times to say,

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 4:9

chapter 4, verse 9,

concerning brotherly

love, you have no

need for anyone to

write to you.

for you yourselves

have been taught

by God to love

one another.

Cheyenne Mountain,

I can say to you

concerning brotherly

love, you have no

need for anyone to

write to you, for

you yourselves have

been taught by God

to love one another.

And so I urge you

brothers to do this

more and more.

Cheyenne Mountain,

welcome children

more and more.

be hospitable

more and more.

Be concerned

for those who have

no status in this

world more and more.

Give to those who

cannot give back

to you more and

more.

When I came here

April of 2017 to

sort of kind of

interview, I spent a

lot of time with

Jim Franks and

Paul Bishop.

We had this

breakfast over at

IHOP by Home

Depot.

and Jim was

just like grilling

me about small

group stuff because

that's what I was

supposed to come and

do.

Joke's on you,

Jim.

Paul Bishop told

me about this

church and he said

the one thing that's

always been true of

Cheyenne Mountain is

its welcome.

That this is a

church where people

are embraced.

I can tell you this

morning five years

in this is a church

where people are

welcome.

I've seen you all

do it over and

over.

Do it more and

more.

Okay, I told you we

have some life

principles here.

Principle one, hard to

get over your old

crush until you have a

new crush.

Principle two, you

can't give away

things you don't

have.

You cannot give away

things you don't

have.

How is it that

you're able to

give to those who

can give you nothing

in return?

It's because you've

been filled with the

love of God.

It's because you've

been filled with the

love of God.

Rich and powerful

people have no

appeal to you when

you know that God

will take care of

you.

when you know the

Lord is my shepherd,

I shall not want.

You're able to risk

your social status by

hanging out with

awkward people when

you know you're

secure in the love

of God.

You cannot give

away what you

don't have.

So I say again to

you what I said at

the beginning,

Cheyenne

Mountain, know the

love of God.

Know the love

of God.

God's love is not

based on your

status.

It's not based on

your performance.

In God's kingdom,

you don't earn

security and love.

You've already

received it.

That's the good

news of the gospel.

That's what allows

us to give away

to others.

It is easy to

give gifts

when you know

your father's rich.

It's easy to give

gifts when you know

your father is rich.

It's when Jesus

accepts you and you

know it that you're

able to be calm

and present and

offer that kind of

security to others.

Know the love of God

more and more.

Welcome, children,

more and more.

The famous

1981 film

Chariots of Fire

tells the story of

two different

runners who are

similar in many

ways and also

different.

They're competing in

the 1924 Olympics.

Their names are

Eric Little and

Harold Abrams.

Abrams has this

deep wound,

this insecurity,

this anger that

he's trying to work

out from growing up

as a Jew in

Judeo-Christian

Britain.

And he believes

that winning the

Olympics is going

to be the solution

to his problems.

If he can only

get that gold

medal, it will

finally resolve

all of his angst.

So we see at the

beginning of the

movie, there's

very different

things going on

with these two

men.

Abrams is wrapped

in prestige.

He's at Cambridge

University.

For the first time

in 700 years,

he's able to

complete the

challenge of the

college dash.

And so he's

going up in

popularity and

success.

On the other

hand, we see

Eric Little,

who's off in

the middle of

nowhere in the

Scottish Highlands

helping to run

this children's

race.

And so one is

this worldly

success and

champion.

The other one

is hidden away

in Scotland.

Little has to

be convinced to

compete in the

Olympics because

he's not sure if

it fits his life

mission of

following God no

matter what.

But he loves

to run.

Abrams, on the

other hand,

actually confesses

at one point that

he doesn't love

running at all.

Instead, he says,

it is a compulsion,

it is a weapon

against being

Jewish.

Little, on the

other hand, says,

God made me fast.

When I run, I feel

his pleasure.

Abrams believes

that running is the

way that he is

going to, he says

this, justify my

whole existence.

Abrams.

Now, if you're

familiar with the

movie, you know

that the end, both

of them get a

gold medal.

The problem is

they respond very

differently.

Abrams receives

the gold medal

that he's been

longing for.

He becomes, at

that moment, the

fastest man in

the world.

And what do we

see after that?

He's in the

locker room with

the rest of his

teammates and he's

not able to talk

to them.

He's depressed and

morose and he

walks out all by

himself.

In one of the

last scenes, he's

standing with his

coach, he's sitting

in this bar and

both of them are

drunk.

His success has

not given him

what he needed or

wanted.

Doesn't know what

to do.

As he's racing,

you can see his

face is filled with

anxiety and fear.

little's face is

filled with joy.

And after he

finishes, he goes

and celebrates with

his friends.

Brothers and

sisters, we need

to be freed from

the power and the

allure of greatness

and success so that

we can have joy as

we run.

We can offer

God's welcome to

the least of

these.

If anyone would

be first, he must

be last of all and

servant of all.

Whoever receives

one such child in

my name receives

me and whoever

receives me receives

not me but him

who sent me.

Let's pray.

Our Father in

heaven, we thank

you again for

your word that

you've given to

guide us.

We ask that you

would grow us

more and more,

that your grace

would continue to

be at work,

that we would be

people who are

tempted less and

less by power and

success, that we

would love you and

your welcome more

and more, that it

would be truer and

truer of this church

and this community.

We ask these things

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.