“The Cup of Wrath for Humble Servants” - Mark 10:32-45

If you've got a Bible, we're going to be in Mark chapter 10.

Mark 10 · chapter mention

If you've been with us for a while, you know we've been working through Mark verse by verse.

I do want to give a quick note here. In the month of November,

we're going to take the month of November and just talk about church.

We like to do this once a year or about maybe once every 18 months.

Just a reminder of what we're here for, what the church is, what is worship,

what is community, what is discipleship. discipleship? Why do we preach the way we preach?

Why do we sing the songs we sing? All these are questions we've gotten and we get from time to time.

We have answers to all of those questions, I promise. We don't just randomly

roll the dice out there and do whatever we want.

So we're going to take the month of November to do that.

But for now, we're just going to keep working through Mark. And so again,

we're in Mark chapter 10. We're going to start in verse 32.

Mark 10 · chapter mention

Before I do that, let me ask you, have you ever had something that takes you a long time to get?

Like it takes you a long time. Like you're a hardheaded person.

The lessons take a while to get. We were talking about geometry this morning.

Like I love math. I hate geometry.

It's the worst thing in the world. Like you put numbers in front of me,

numbers always make sense.

And someone's like, what about this square angle and you're like,

what does that matter? Nobody cares. Okay.

And then some of you are like, dude, I love geometry. And to that,

I say you're weird and God bless you. Okay. Like, it's fine.

Some people in here love English.

Great. Great. I see. Wonderful. Wonderful. I was terrible at English and I'm still not great at it.

I did better in Greek than I did in English in college. It was a weird thing. Just how it worked.

But what we've seen in the disciples, they're having a hard time understanding,

what Jesus is trying to tell them.

He began this section of scripture back in chapter nine by telling them,

the last shall be first and the first shall be last, and you'll be the servant of many.

And it's really where he begins to be explicitly clear about where he's heading,

what he's going to do, where, man, I am going and I'm going to be crucified,

buried, and risen again.

And yet the disciples have a hard time getting this. And to be fair to them,

it's never been done before.

There's no era in history at this point where they could look at and go,

well, yeah, we understand what's going on. We've heard about this before.

We've heard these stories. We've seen this happen before.

So they are having an issue figuring this thing out.

I wonder if there's things in your spiritual life, in your Christian life, that you struggle with.

Maybe a theological concept, or maybe it's just doing what God asks you to do.

All of us have things that God asks us to do that we go, man, amen. I love doing that.

Maybe you're naturally evangelistic, and you're great at going out and sharing

the gospel. That's wonderful. But then when God says, hey, I really need you

to study the word, to know it, to know it and to live by it.

You go, man, I just can't sit down and read that long. It drives me insane.

I'm more of a busybody or vice versa.

There's a sin in your life that has a hold on you. There's a habit that has

a hold on you. There's a way of thinking that has a hold on you.

And here we can look at the disciples and go, yeah, I get it.

I feel like Jesus has been trying to teach me this lesson for 10,

20, 30 years, and I still struggle with it.

I say that so that we're not too harsh on the disciples.

We don't read this and go, man,

what a bunch of idiots, before we look at ourself and go guilty, right?

So again, if you have a Bible, we're going to be in Mark 10, start in verse 32.

Won't spend a ton of time on these first couple of verses, but what Jesus is

going to do is he's going to make his plan clear again.

This is the third time he's done this in recent history. He says,

and they were on the road going up to Jerusalem and Jesus was walking ahead

of them And they were amazed.

And those who followed were afraid.

And taking the 12 again, he began to tell them what was going to happen.

Now, why are they amazed and why are they afraid? Well, I think in part because

he's, again, been explicitly clear about where he's going and what he's going to do.

He's been explicitly clear about the fact that I am on the road to Jerusalem

and I'm going to hand myself over to these evil men.

And these evil men are going to spit on me and flog me.

They're gonna do all these terrible things and they're going to kill me.

And yet Jesus isn't deterred by that.

As he walks towards Jerusalem, he's not walking all mopey and like,

oh, well, I gotta go die now. No, he's doing the exact same thing he has always done.

He is walking and he is teaching and he is healing. and he is doing all the

things that he has always done.

And the disciples, I think, are amazed by this because if any of us had a death

sentence over our head and we were walking towards it, I don't know that any

of us would be the exact same as we were before that.

All right, our tone would change, our attitudes would change.

How do I know that? Because let you have a bad Wednesday and see if you don't

treat people a little differently.

Some of us treat people differently based on how our team does on Saturday or Sunday.

I mean, listen, I treat people differently if I wake up on Monday and I'm like,

oh, great, forgot to get coffee this morning.

It's wild what changes how we act and changes how we do things and changes how

we treat people and changes our attitude. And yet Jesus is openly on the way

to his death and he is just doing what he has always done.

And I think the disciples are amazed by this.

So he pulls them aside and he once again reminds them, see,

this verse 33, see, we are going up to Jerusalem and the son of man will be

delivered over to the chief priest and the scribes and they will condemn him

to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles, AKA the Romans.

And they will mock him and spit on him and flog him and kill him.

And after three days, he will rise.

Again, Jesus wants to leave no doubt as to what is about to happen.

He wants to leave no doubt in their minds as to where they're going and what

is going to happen. And yet still, the disciples don't fully grasp what's going on.

We'll see that in this question, but we also see that as we get deeper into the Gospels.

So Jesus, again, makes this plan clear. And again, I think the disciples are

just amazed at his readiness to go up to Jerusalem.

He had so many powerful enemies and so many people that wanted him dead,

so many people that wanted to expose him for the danger that they believed he

was, but he was determined,

by God and agreed upon by himself and foretold in the scriptures to do that.

And so Jesus sets his face on Jerusalem. That's where he's going.

This is has been always will be the plan jesus isn't coming up with this on the fly,

right he's not as he's living his life coming up with the idea of the cross,

this has been the plan since before the foundation of the world it has been

the plan since before eden it has been the plan since before creation it has

been the plan since before satan existed

god knew exactly what he was going to do he knew exactly how it was going to

play out he knew exactly how he would get to where he wanted to go,

because God will do whatever God wants by any means necessary that he deems fit.

And we get a picture of what this is in the gospels. Now, of course,

the disciples still struggle here.

Verse 35, he says, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Now,

these were the two that are in his inner circle with Peter.

If you remember in the transfiguration about a month ago, he takes three people

up on the mountain, Peter, James, and John.

These are guys that I think at this point are thinking, we need to stake our claim to this thing.

So they come up to him and they say, 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? They said to him,

grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left hand, in your glory.

I don't know if there's a more prideful question than the one James and John asked Jesus.

And yet, I don't know if there's a question that we don't ask Jesus every now

and again. Maybe we're not as explicit as that.

But anytime in our lives that we demand from God something that we think we

deserve, we are like James and John.

When we go to God and things aren't going our way and things aren't happening

the way we want them to go and our spirits demand, even if our words wouldn't

say it because we know that's uncouth, right?

But our heart's demand and our mind's demand is, God, I'm doing what you've

asked me to do. Now you need to hold up your end of the bargain.

Let me sit at the right and left hand.

John Stott comments this way, says the church is full of Jameses and Johns,

go-getters and status seekers, hungry for honor and prestige,

measuring life by achievements and everlastingly dreaming of success.

That even after Jesus is clear about what he is going to do,

their first thought is, how can I get in on that? How can that benefit me?

And they missed the point. And Jesus is going to make the point to them by asking

them a question. In verse 38, he says, you do not know what you are asking.

It's a great way for Jesus to say, you're like a little child.

That's asking me to help build a house. As if I gave you a hammer and some nails,

you would make a dent in what I have to do.

They don't get it. Jesus is clear. You don't know what you're asking.

We ask a very poignant question. 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, foolishly, we are able. We are able.

And Jesus said to them, the cup that I drink, you will drink.

With the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,

but to sit at my right hand or my left hand is not mine to grant.

It is for those for whom it has been prepared.

What is this cup that Jesus references? He says, are you able to drink the cup that I drink?

I think Psalm 75 gives us a really clear picture of what this cup is.

The psalmist starts this way.

He says, We give thanks to you, O God. We give thanks to you, for your name is near.

We recount your wondrous deeds. At the set time that I appoint,

I will judge with equity.

When the earth totters and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars.

I say to the boastful, do not boast. And to the wicked, do not lift up your horn.

Do not lift up your horn on high or speak with a haughty neck.

For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting

up, but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.

Just before we get to the cup, let me just pause and say, is that how you think

about the world around you?

When you look at world events, when you look at political landscapes,

when you listen to the news, when you read an article, does your mind go to

God is in control? Thank you.

Or do you allow it like the world does to wreck your life and to say,

man, what are we going to do if this happens? What's going to happen if this happens?

If this goes down, then I'm going to have to do this. And if this happens,

I'm going to have to do this. I'm going to have to change some retirement planning.

I'm going to have to do some different things.

And you freak out because we, even as Christians, forget, listen,

at the set time that God appoints, he will judge with equity.

When the world totters and teeters around and all of its inhabitants are scattered,

it is God who keeps steady its pillars.

Therefore, if someone boasts, you can tell them, hey, don't boast.

And to the wicked, don't lift up your horn or don't make a big deal about yourself. Why?

Because it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.

God does, listen, God does what he wants to do.

And that's good news for Christians, even when it's bad news,

Even when things don't go your way, even when the world looks like it's a mess,

even when the upcoming election cycle looks like an absolute cluster,

we as Christians can go, listen, it is God who brings down and it is God who lifts up.

It is God who executes judgment. It is God who keeps the world on its pillars.

And we can take faith in that.

We can take solace in that. And we can be confident that, hey,

the God that I know, the God that saves me, the God that redeems me,

the God that has promised to keep me is in control.

He is in control.

Verse eight, for in the hand of the Lord, there is a cup with foaming wine well

mixed and he pours out from it and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.

Psalmist says, but I will declare it forever and I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall

be lifted up. Now here's the question.

He says, at the right hand, there is a cup. I think this is the cup that Jesus has in mind.

The right hand of God, there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed,

and he pours out from it. What does he pour out?

All the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.

This is God's wrath pictured in a cup. poured out on the unrighteous, on the wicked.

And we would do well to remind ourselves that the only reason that cup is not

poured out on you and me is because God drank that cup for you.

This is what Christ is saying when he asked the disciples, can you drink the

cup that I'm going to drink?

And they foolishly say, well, of course we can. Because what they're thinking

is, listen, if this is a political revolt, Jesus, we're on your team.

We're on your team, man. We're willing to fight for you. We're willing to do

whatever it takes. We'll fight the Romans. We'll fight the Jews.

We'll fight anybody, Jesus. And Jesus goes, you don't get it.

Again, he tells them, you have no idea what you're asking.

You have no clue. The disciples cannot drink the cup of God in the same way that Jesus can.

Because the disciples are the wicked of Psalm 75.

You and I can't drink the cup of God's wrath the way that Jesus can. Why?

Because we are the wicked of Psalm 75.

The only reason that you and I are not wicked and the only reason that we can,

like the psalmist, finish Psalm 75 by saying, I will sing praises to God forever

is because God has drank our cup.

Because the wrath of God poured out on all the wicked should be poured out on

me because I should be counted among the wicked.

But instead, God accounts Jesus as wicked on my behalf so that he can account

me as righteous and I can sing praises to God for eternity. Why?

Because Christ Jesus died in my place.

Because he is an atonement for me.

The cup of wrath that is reserved, and I would add, well reserved for you and me.

The only difference between us and the wicked of the earth is that Christ has

saved you. He has redeemed you.

That he has drank that cup down to its dregs on the cross.

And when you look at the world and you say, how can people be that evil?

How can people do those things? How can people act that way? The answer is simple.

You only think that way because you've been made into something that you are not naturally.

And when we go out into the world and we preach the gospel, what we are saying

to people is, you don't have to live that way.

You don't have to live under the dominion of Satan. You don't have to live with him as your king.

Christ has paid a ransom for many.

He has paid for the sins of his people. And when we go out into the world,

it's not our job to decide who gets the gospel and who doesn't,

who will respond and who won't, who is wicked and who isn't,

who deserves to hear it and who doesn't.

It is our job to proclaim the gospel and God's job to save people.

We said this last week, salvation belongs to the Lord.

It is his to do with as he pleases, but the gospel he has given to us to preach to the nations.

Romans 5, 8, 9, a verse you probably know, God shows his love for us and that

while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since therefore we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we

be saved from what? From the wrath of God, from the cup of wrath that would

be poured out on your head.

So Jesus says to them, listen, you have no idea what you're asking.

You have no idea what you're asking. And I often like to say to people,

hey, take a deep breath because you don't have to save anybody.

In fact, you can't save anybody. You can't do it.

You can't. That's kind of what Jesus is saying to them is, Is you think you can drink this cup?

You can't. Now, listen, you'll drink it. You'll be persecuted,

right? These two guys that he's talking to, one of them will be killed,

James. One of them will be secluded on the island of Patmos, John.

They'll be beaten. They'll be flogged. They'll experience a lot of the same

things that Jesus experiences.

But when they drink the cup, they do it for God's glory. When Jesus drinks the

cup, he does it for our salvation.

He saves us from those things.

So how does this end up working itself out?

Verse 41, it says, when the 10 heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.

Right? You would hope at this point one of them would be like,

hey, guys, that's not the point. Like one of them hopefully has gotten the message

at this point, but they don't. They're mad at James and John. Why?

Because they're like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Who do you think you are asking to be

at the front of the table?

Who do you think you are asking to sit at the right hand and left hand? And what about us?

I'm not sitting in the third seat, right? I shouldn't have less than you have.

And there's a fight that breaks out among the disciples. If you remember back

again in chapter nine, that's how this whole section of scripture starts.

They're walking on the road and Jesus is ahead of them. And they're arguing

amongst themselves about what? Who's the greatest.

Jesus goes back and says, hey, what are you talking about? And they go, nothing.

They know they're not supposed to be talking like that. They get it.

But they can't help themselves. And let's be honest, we have a hard time helping ourselves too.

I would be lying to you if I said, man, I just love being a servant all the

time. It's my favorite thing to do.

That is until someone serves me and I'm like, that was actually kind of nice. I could get used to that.

I can remember one time we were flying to Chicago for a mission trip.

And this shows you what kind of mission trips we were going on.

And we were going up there to do homeless ministry and it was a really great trip.

But my mom had bought my ticket. It was like everybody else's ticket.

But again, apparently she has points.

I'm not trying to tell your business. Okay, but she had points.

So we're all checking in beforehand. hand. And when I check in,

it asked me, do you want to upgrade to first class for like 40 bucks?

Yeah. Well, I assumed it asked everybody that question.

It did not. And so I'm like, yeah, dude, I got 40 bucks. Swipe it.

So then we're all sitting there. And again, I'm assuming everyone's taking up this deal.

Like who is not taking up the deal? Especially my youth pastor.

Why would he not take up the deal? That big dummy, right? We're all going to do this, right?

And so then they start calling to board the plane. They go first class passengers

and I get up and everyone starts laughing and I'm like, oh, are you poor?

I'm sorry. I, I, I'm a big deal. I didn't say that. Okay. But that is how I thought.

And I was like, wait, you guys didn't get the option to upgrade right now.

Again, this wasn't a long flight. It's Dallas or Chicago. It wasn't short,

but sitting in first class, you're like, I'm more important than everyone else in this plane.

Like they're getting peanuts and I have hot food, you know, and I'm sitting

there and everybody walking by me and they're looking at me like,

who do you think you are? And I'm like, dude, it was 40 bucks.

Like who would have said no to 40 bucks?

You're just mad that I got to sit here and you don't. But it did reveal something

in me that I realized it's like, you know what?

I'm going on a mission trip to serve homeless people. And there's still a huge

part of it. It's like, I like being better than everyone though.

Like I really do enjoy being better than other people. It really is nice.

We get off the plane, everyone's like, how was your flight? I'm like,

better than yours. I promise, I promise.

Again, at 19 years old, I had no shame. I was like, listen, y'all can get mad

at me if you want. It was a great flight, I slept great. That's your problem, not mine, okay?

But we all like that. We all like that feeling. I don't care who you are.

You can act like you don't. You can say, I don't need any of that stuff,

blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You're lying to yourself.

Your comforts may be different than other people's. You may not need a big house

and a nice car, but everyone has something or some things in their life that

make their life easier that if you had to go without them, it wouldn't be a good day.

And what Jesus is going to say to them is, hey, you're all fighting for the wrong reasons.

You're all fighting a losing battle.

Verse 42, Jesus called to them and he said to them, really he repeats what he's

already said to them, but again, they're hard-headed like us.

He says, 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.

Again, we don't get the tone in Jesus' voice, but I think Jesus is being very

direct and pretty poignant with them right now.

As they're all bickering like children about who's the greatest,

it's like he pulls them aside and says, hey, shut your mouths and listen to

what I'm telling you again.

Again, but it should not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant.

That's actually the same word that we have for deacon, diakonos, must be your servant.

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.

This is the way of influence. This is the way of Christian greatness.

The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power,

but love, not force, but example, not coercion, but reason, persuasion.

Leaders have power indeed, but power is safe only in the hands of those who

are humble enough to realize it's not theirs.

That every power, every leadership position, mine included, is given by the

great shepherd, Jesus Christ, that I am under his authority,

that I don't get to rule and reign with an iron fist.

Do I have authority here? Yes, I do.

I do have authority. I try to exercise that authority. I try to exercise it

in a good way, but I'm not the ultimate authority on all things in the kingdom.

I don't always get my way and I shouldn't. No one should always get their way.

Imagine if Peter always got his way, if Paul always got his way.

Imagine if James and John always got their way. These are great men,

great Christian men that God used in an incredible way.

And yet he tells them, listen, if you want to be great, be a servant.

He literally says, we'll be a slave of all, a slave of all.

This is, I think, one of the reasons that Paul's constantly telling us that

he's a slave of Jesus Christ, right?

He's a slave of Jesus Christ. He's been bought. Right?

Has been bought. He has been purchased. You say, well, whoa,

I thought Christians were free. Yeah, Christians are free to do what they couldn't

do before, which is serve the Lord.

That's the difference between a Christian and other people. You don't have to

be a Christian to live life.

You don't have to be a Christian to get married. You don't have to be a Christian

to go to church. You have to be a Christian to listen to Caleb or sing Christian songs.

You don't have to be a Christian to have a good job. You don't have to have

a Christian to be a good boss.

You don't have to be a Christian to be moral. You don't have to be a Christian to be nice.

You don't have to be a Christian to do any quote unquote good thing.

You do have to be a Christian to glorify God.

That's what you are free to do.

This is why Paul and Jesus can say, you will be a slave of all and yet be the

most free person that has ever lived because you will need nothing from anybody.

You won't need someone to pat you on the back and tell you how awesome you're

doing, even though that's great. I'm not opposed to that.

You won't need someone to give you something in return. You won't be beholden

to the world to make your life mean something.

You will be beholden to the one that bought you and purchased you and loved you.

You will be a servant of all.

John Chrysostom, a fourth century, we'll say theologian from Antioch, says this,

You see how Christ's humbling of himself did not make him have less,

but produced countless benefits, countless deeds of virtue, and made his glory

shine forth with greater brightness.

God wants for nothing and has need of anything. Yet, when he humbled himself,

he produced such great good, increased his household, extended his kingdom.

Why then are we afraid that we will become less if we humble ourselves?

It's a great question to ask yourself. Why are you scared, if you are, of humbling yourself?

What fear do you have of serving someone less than you that keeps you from doing it?

He says at the very end of this, for even the Son of Man came not to serve,

but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Just as a side note, Jesus knows who he's paying the ransom for. He knows.

He knows in this group of 12 that there's a Judas. He's not guessing.

He's not lost on him who Judas is. When Judas betrays him later on in the gospels, he's not shocked.

He looks him dead in the eye and says, go do what you're going to do.

Go do what you were destined to do.

Good news of that is, if you're a Christian, if Jesus has ransomed you, he knows you.

He knows your sins and your struggles.

He knows your pride. He knows where it's hard for you to submit.

He knows where it's hard for you to serve. He knows where it's hard for you to forgive.

He knows where it's hard for you to let go of things. He knows what's difficult

for you to do that he's asked you to do. He knows all of those things.

And yet he says, I've paid the ransom for you, not because of who you are, because of who I am.

I give my life as a ransom for many. I drink the cup of wrath for many,

and I know who they are. This is John 6.

I know who they are.

My sheep hear me and know my voice. They respond.

All right, let's close with this. Number one, have you stopped just to consider the plan of Christ?

What was the last time you just stopped and meditated on what Christ did for you.

The first gospel sermon we have in the Bible, Acts 3, 22-24,

Peter says this, Men of Israel, hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth,

a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God

did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.

This Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of

God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men, God raised him up,

loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

This Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of

God, you crucified and killed.

God knew what was going to happen. He knew what he was doing.

This was the plan and foreknowledge of God at work, and yet you are still guilty.

You are still guilty for your sins. You still have freedom to make decisions,

and we all choose at times to make simple decisions.

The good news is your plan and your sins do not trump God's.

Genesis 50, 20, at the end of the Joseph story, what does God say?

Through him. You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.

Evil people mean to do evil things and they are accountable for those evil decisions,

but their evil decisions, including

yours and mine, do not override God's gracious plan in their life.

Consider the plan of Christ. Number two, are you treating Jesus like a cosmic

bellhop? Are you a James and a John?

Are you looking to Jesus to provide your wanted needs while neglecting the fact

that he came to drink the cup of wrath in your place?

That if Jesus never does anything that you would deem good in the rest of your life,

if all you do is struggle, if all you do is experiencing pain and suffering

and loss, if that's all that ever happens to you, that you can look at God and

go, you have been good to me.

You have been good to me in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Because if I suffer for 80 years, so be it. I will be with you for eternity.

And it will be like a drop in the ocean of time in comparison to what I get

to see and experience with you.

Is power and prestige still your goal? Do you still want to be on top?

Is there still a part of you that wants to look at other people and go,

you know, if you could get on my page, if you could figure out what I know,

if you were as smart as me, if you could get in the same boat as I'm in,

everything would get better.

Are you willing like Christ to say, listen, I'm a servant.

I'm a servant. I'm a slave to what God has called me to do.

And that means there are going to be times where people treat you like that,

where they don't give you your due.

They don't recognize who you are. They don't see maybe the value that you bring

to the table. Well, listen, that's the life of a servant and a slave.

That's just the way it is.

Paul's sweat rag healed people and they still stoned him.

Jesus raised people from the dead and they still killed him.

What you bring to the table will often be not what you're treated like.

And that's got to be okay. That's got to be okay.

You remember the cup of wrath drank down to the dregs on your behalf.

You just consider it. In those moments where you take on the form of a servant

and you begin to get treated like one, and your natural human response is to

go, don't they know who I am?

Don't they know how big of a deal I am? Don't they know I got some degrees, man?

Don't they know that I'm smart? Don't they know that I have a lot to offer?

Don't they know that I have a lot to bring to the table?

Instead of meeting people with that attitude to say, listen,

I am at the core of my being, simply a sinner deserving of wrath that Christ has paid for.

And if you wanna treat me like a treated Christ, I'm in good company. That's okay.

Again, last, will you just be a servant? Will you just be who God called you

to be? Now, again, I always like to say this, this doesn't mean you're a pushover.

It doesn't mean you're a people pleaser. It doesn't mean you do what everyone

wants you to do. it doesn't mean you make everyone happy.

Being a Christian is not as easy as being nice. That is not the same thing.

In fact, it's the exact opposite. Being a Christian means you will be hated

for some of your opinions.

You will be hated for some of the ways that you choose to live.

We often say it this way here at Trinity.

It's sad that most people don't have the opportunity to love their enemies because

they're too nice to have any.

Have some enemies, that's okay. Everyone has enemies. That's okay.

Just do it because you're being a servant of Christ, not because you're being

a jerk. That's really the caveat.

Says in 1 Corinthians 10 that he does his very best to get along with everyone

and to give no offense to Jews or Gentiles or Greeks or Romans.

But it's like Paul saying, I'm doing my best, but Christ is pretty offensive.

In other words, Paul's saying, I'm not going out of my way to be rude to people.

I'm not going out of my way to tell people that I'm better than them,

that I'm smarter than them, that I know more than they do, but I am preaching the gospel.

And I would say I and preaching the whole counsel of God. And there will be

people who do not like that.

There will be people who don't like that. And that's okay. But for us as a church, right?

Things like this should keep us from, I would say, silly arguments like the disciples got into.

That we should never find ourselves bickering about who's the greatest.

We shouldn't find ourselves bickering about things like, well,

I like that song, but I don't like that song.

Well, it was 68 in there this morning. I really prefer it at 72.

Listen, I get it. I'm not saying those aren't valid concerns.

And if I just picked at a wound or something, I didn't mean to.

But I simply mean that to say, listen, when we come into this room,

we're talking about the savior of the universe, the God who is in control of

everything, who is sovereign over, again, every molecule.

We're talking about a Christ who drank the cup of wrath on your behalf.

And all those things do is end up getting in the way of talking about those things.

There's always business to tend to. There's always conversations to have.

If it's too hot or too cold, let us know. We'll do our best.

All right, if you like a song, let us know. I promise you, we'll do our best.

Or we won't. I don't know. Okay, I can't promise anything.

None of us are even guaranteed to be here next week. It is what it is.

There's songs I like that we don't do.

A little bit of a rant at the end. I apologize. But I say that because I was

at a place this weekend where I heard a lot of people arguing about a lot of dumb things.

And I just found myself going, number one, man, I'm glad that we don't have

those discussions most of the time.

Number two, man, that's dumb. Who cares?

Who cares? The lights were a little more dim than I liked them.

God bless us. How will we ever survive?

And we laugh at that. But again, I know that I'm capable of doing the same thing.

There's things that I have that are what I would call religious hobby horses

that I think are really important and that really matter to me that at times

I have to be reminded, hey, get over yourself, you'll be okay.

We all need to be reminded, like Jesus reminds his disciples,

hey, do you wanna be great in this kingdom? Be a servant, be a slave of Christ.

Remind yourself that on your best day, you are a wicked person,

deserving of the full wrath of God on your life, and Christ has drank that for you. Let's pray.