Sunday Sermon | The Gospel of Mark: Faithfulness Over Success

This is the Gospel of Mark.

All right, good morning, church family.

Turn with me in your Bibles to Mark chapter six.

Mark chapter six.

If you're a guest with us this morning, let me introduce myself.

My name is Jason Smith.

I have the awesome privilege of being the pastor here at First Baptist Bernie, and uh it is it is a privilege to have you with us, so welcome.

Hold your spot in Mark chapter six.

I'm gonna begin reading in verse seven here in a moment.

Every one of us want our life to count, but how do you know if it will?

How do you measure a life?

William Tyndale believed that ordinary people should have access to be able to read their Bibles themselves.

Although it was illegal, he would spend his entire life translating the Bible into English.

He spent years on the run, lived in hiding, was betrayed by a friend, arrested, strangled, and then burned at the stake.

His final prayer would be, Lord, open the King of England's eyes.

Now, if the story ended there, you and I would consider that a failure.

His work was unfinished.

He died alone.

There was no movement or celebration surrounding his life.

But within a few years, God would answer that prayer.

Henry VIII would authorize an English Bible translation.

And eighty to ninety percent was Tyndale's work.

Today, millions of people read our Bible in English.

We have God's word through the language that Tyndale first gave us.

And he never saw it.

But God was only beginning.

Today, Mark's gonna ask for us the same question.

How do you measure a life?

How do you define success for the kingdom?

What does that actually look like?

We will see that the disciples are gonna experience tremendous success.

People repent, demons flee, the sick are healed.

And just when you're ready to celebrate that, Mark interrupts his own story to tell us about a man who lost his life for faithfully proclaiming the exact same message.

Can a life end in apparent failure and still be a success in the kingdom of God?

Listen as I read Mark chapter 6, beginning in verse 7.

Mark 6 · chapter mention

And Jesus summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs.

And he gave them authority over the unclean spirits, and he instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey except a mere staff, no bread, no bag, no money in their belt, but to wear sandals, and he added, Do not put on two tunics.

And he said to them, Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town.

Any place that does not receive you or listen to you as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.

They went out, and they preached that men should repent.

And they were casting out many demons, and were anointing with oil many sick people, and healing them.

And King Herod heard of it, for his name had become well known, and people were saying, John the Baptist has risen from the dead.

And that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.

But others were saying he is Elijah, and others were saying he is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.

But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, John, whom I beheaded has risen.

For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her.

For John had been saying to Herod, It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.

Now Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death, but could not do so, for Herod was afraid of John.

Knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, he kept him safe.

And when he heard him, he was very perplexed, and he used to enjoy listening to him.

A strategic day came when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his lords and his military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.

And when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guest.

And the king said to the girl, Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.

And he swore to her, Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, up to half my kingdom.

And she went out and she said to her mother, What shall I ask for?

And she said, The head of John the Baptist.

Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guest, he was unwilling to refuse her.

Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head.

And he went and he had him beheaded in prison.

And he brought his head on a platter, and he gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

And when the disciples heard about this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.

And now Mark returns to the previous story of the disciples going out and coming back.

He returns to that.

The apostles gathered together with Jesus and they reported to him all that they had done and taught.

Will you pray with me?

Our Heavenly Father, we have gathered this morning as your people.

The living temple.

We have gathered to sing your praises, to come before your throne in the mighty name of Jesus, and to be taught by your word.

And Father, we surrender our hearts to you and we beg that your Spirit might teach us this morning.

We humble ourselves.

Teach us, King Jesus, about life and about perspective, and how you will judge us and what you will count worthy.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

It's time.

Jesus is ready to send his disciples out.

Think back to Mark chapter 3 when Jesus went up on a mountain and he called the 12 disciples to himself.

Mark 3 · chapter mention

Like Moses up on Mount Sinai.

Jesus was creating a new people for himself, his kingdom.

The king has come, and these are his people.

And Jesus has been preparing them.

They've listened as Jesus taught about the kingdom.

They've watched the king's authority as he calmed the storm, as he cast out demons, as he healed disease, as he even raised the dead.

And they understand, right, the king has come.

But they've also learned something else along the way.

That even Jesus was rejected by those who were closest to him, even his own town.

Now everything that they've learned up to this point is about to become personal.

See, up till this point, the crowds have been coming to Jesus, but now Jesus is multiplying his ministry and he is sending his disciples to the crowds.

And verse 7 tells us something pretty astonishing.

Look at it.

And he gave them authority.

Not their authority, his.

The authority to preach his message, to confront the kingdom of darkness, to heal in his name.

Think about who these men are.

They're fishermen and a tax collector, ordinary men, and yet Jesus gives them his mission.

Let's also pause to acknowledge that these guys are far from finished products.

They are far from being even mature.

And yet Jesus sends them anyway.

Because ministry is not the reward for maturity, it is actually one of God's primary tools for cultivating it.

There's only so much that you can learn in the classroom before it's time to get on mission.

The disciples are sent out two by two, and as Jesus does so, he gives them kind of surprising instructions.

Take nothing.

No bread, no bag, no money in your belt.

How many of you would like to go on this mission?

Now, why would Jesus ask this?

Because he wants his disciples to know that the kingdom is not built on self-sufficiency.

They're going to have to be dependent on the hospitality of those who receive them and ultimately dependent on the God that sent them.

And Jesus prepares them for something else as well.

Not everyone's going to respond to them the same way.

This is the parable of the soils lived out.

There are some that are going to receive the gospel with joy, but others will reject.

Shake the dust off your feet as you leave, not out of bitterness, but as a testimony that they have rejected God's gracious invitation.

Now, church, that's an important reminder for each of us.

That results are not our job, faithfulness is.

Now look again at verses twelve and thirteen.

Says they went out and preached that men should repent, and they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

Now, could you imagine what this was like?

People repented at their preaching.

Demons fled.

Sick people were healed.

For the first time, right, these ordinary men experience what it's like to be used by God.

Did you imagine the conversation on the way back home?

Right?

All the elbow nudging that says, can you believe that?

Hey, do you remember when when Peter laid his hands on that woman?

She was just burning with fever, she was sweating, and just like that, she was healed.

Can you believe God is using us?

Now, if the story ended there, you and I might conclude this is ministry.

This is what it always looks like.

Right?

They were faithful, and look at just all the magnificent things that God allowed them to do.

But Mark won't let us.

Because just as the excitement builds in the story, he interrupts his own story as if to say, hey, before you guys celebrate too much, let me tell you about John.

This interruption isn't meant to discourage us, it's meant to redefine faithfulness before success becomes our measuring tool.

I want you to think about John's life.

Remember, he was set apart from birth, right?

He lived a holy life.

He was fearless in proclaiming the truth.

He was humble enough when the time came.

He said to his disciples, He must increase, but I must decrease.

And in fact, Jesus said of him, No greater, there's no greater man that is born among women.

What a life, you say.

And yet, how did it end?

A cowardly king?

An evil scheme?

A drunken banquet?

And his head is carried in on a platter.

Now, why would Mark interrupt the story of the disciples' success?

Where Jesus had given his authority and they are coming back all excited, and Mark intentionally interrupts right there and says, Let me tell you about John.

Why would he do that?

Because he wants us to see something before we celebrate the victories too much.

He wants us to see how to measure a life.

There are three important lessons we can learn about Mark's interruption.

First, Mark warns us against defining success with immediate, visible results.

If there are two things our culture is obsessed with, it is success and instant results.

Right?

Find your purpose, leave your mark, change the world, and do it now with maximum results.

Right?

The number of leadership books that we package of strategies and formulas and models for breakthrough success.

Now don't misunderstand me.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with wanting your life to matter, to count.

Guys, I preach that all the time.

Okay?

To step into God's kingdom work and have your life matter for eternity.

But John's story warns us: do not fall in love with results.

Because they can be deceiving.

By the world's standards, John wasted his life.

He wasted his life.

He died in prison.

Yeah, his ministry started out like skyrocketing, but then it just kind of disappeared into oblivion and then he goes off into prison.

But Jesus measured him differently.

Jesus measured faithfulness.

And church, that's actually incredibly freeing.

Because many faithful Christians will labor for years and never see the fruit of their labor.

Parents, Sunday school teachers, missionaries, grandparents who faithfully pray for their grandchildren, a quiet witness at work, a faithful testimony amongst your family.

Some plant, others water, but God causes the growth.

Do not confuse immediate results with eternal effectiveness.

Secondly, rejection does not equal failure.

Now let's get honest with ourselves.

We struggle in this area.

Right?

You finally speak to your coworker and they reject.

You lovingly confront sin and you lose that relationship.

You try to reconcile a family, family member, and things seem like their heart only gets harder.

And you begin to ask yourself, did I do something wrong?

Well, maybe.

John was rejected.

The disciples were rejected.

Sometimes rejection isn't evidence that you did something wrong.

Sometimes rejection is evidence that you're actually walking faithfully for the kingdom of what God's called you to.

In fact, Scripture tells you to expect it.

Jesus said, if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

So rejection isn't strange, it's actually part of following Jesus.

So do not make acceptance your idol.

Fear God more than you fear the opinions of other people.

Because the moment that your greatest desire becomes being accepted by others, you will not walk faithfully for Jesus.

And thirdly, suffering should not be our greatest fear, unfaithfulness should.

Herod's life was actually a haunting picture of unfaithfulness.

John loses his head, but Herod loses his soul.

John will sit in prison because he was bold enough to tell the king the truth that he should not have his brother's wife.

And you say, well, Herod's in the palace, but he's haunted by guilt.

Who is actually free?

John suffers, but Herod is enslaved.

One man loses his life, but another man loses himself.

In Matthew chapter 10, verse 28, Jesus gives his followers perspective.

Matthew 10:28

He says, do not fear those that kill the body but cannot kill the soul.

Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Beloved, Jesus is teaching that the greatest tragedy is not suffering for Christ.

No, it's actually far worse to compromise Christ in order to avoid suffering.

You see, there are moments as a faithful follower where your obedience will cost you something.

It'll cost you your reputation, cost you relationships, even some spots around the world, even your very life.

And in these moments, we are called to remember John.

The world might look at him locked in prison and say, that is a defeated prisoner.

But Jesus looked at him and said, That is the greatest man born among women.

Church, do not fear suffering.

Rather, fear becoming silent to protect yourself.

Fear loving the applause of people more than the approval of God.

Because the end of our lives, the question won't be how successful were you?

Or how many people applauded you.

The question will be were you faithful?

Week I had a great conversation with the dear saint that uh we she was talking to me uh about her most recent season of ministry and how none of it was quite like she had pictured.

You see, she was retired, and uh for the last little bit, she's she's been able to do missions and go to the ends of the earth.

She's been able to dream about big impact and what's next, Jesus, and take ground and just have these grandiose dreams when suddenly God called her to drop everything and enter into a messy situation.

And I mean messy.

One of those situations where every day feels hard, where victories seem small, where progress seems slow, and you quietly wonder, God, what are we doing here?

And you leave that assignment and you never know the impact.

Now I think every one of us knows what that feels like.

Maybe it's raising children or caring for aging parents.

Maybe your ministry is one that goes completely unnoticed.

Maybe it's faithfully representing Christ at work.

And you quietly wonder, is any of this making a difference?

Well, Mark answers that question.

Jesus delights in your faithfulness.

Let God worry about the kingdom impact.

What if William Tyndale could see all of us this morning with our Bibles open?

You know, I genuinely believe when we get to heaven, the Lord is gonna show us all those moments in our life of quiet faithfulness that we thought they weren't amounting to much, that we didn't know quite what was happening.

He's gonna show us what he did with those.

Every conversation, every prayer, that time when when when you stuck through a difficult situation that you wanted to walk out on.

Tyndale didn't, because that was never the assignment.

Our assignment is to be faithful.

Leave the results to God.

So don't measure your life by applause or visible success, and certainly by material possessions.

Measure it by one question.

Am I faithful to the call that Jesus Christ has put on my life?

Because at the end, on that faithful day, every faithful servant of Jesus will stand before him and hear, well done, good and successful servant.

Well done, good and faithful servant.

Will you pray with me?

Heavenly Father, we bow before your throne and we we welcome you to examine us.

God, we we do confess that there is something good and right in us that desires greatness, that desires our life to be lived with purpose.

You've made us in your image, God.

And this is our one life, and we do not want to waste it.

So, Father, I thank you for your word, and I thank you for the way that it clarifies and it zeros our eyes to focus on faithfulness and to leave the results to you.

And so, Father, we do say that we surrender and that you can do as much or as little impact with our lives, but we want to be found faithful.

And God, we do confess to you that that is often difficult, that we get discouraged.

So often our lives they feel mundane, they feel like those simple tasks of discipline.

What are they doing?

Father, give us strength and courage to continue the race, to be faithful.

And again, Father, we surrender.

You are the author of our stories, and you are writing your kingdom.

And we submit to you.

We love you.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Church family, the praise team is gonna come lead us in one final song of response.

I'll be down here at the front.

I would love to pray with you.

If you need someone to pray with, do not carry these burdens on your own.

We are a family.

Allow me to pray with you.

Um, as I say every week, if the Spirit of God has spoken to you, you must be obedient.

Be found faithful to whatever the Spirit of God has said.

You stand and sing and respond to Him.