Improving Your Serve 2023 Series

Improving your serve!

Opening Illustration: Serving the ball story!

Thesis: Serving does not come easily to any of us, it is an art, a discipline which has to be developed in our life. Servanthood must also be modeled after Jesus.

Scripture: Mark 10:35-45

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

39 “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Mk 10:35–45.

The background on our Scripture text from Logos!

The disciples are still blindly seeking self-glory (this was not the first time they tried to position for power and control with Jesus and with each other), and this time their desire breaks out into a brazen request for the chief seats (12:39). Mark 10:35–37 The request is brazenly self-seeking and self-centered. They want Jesus to do whatever they want, and that is to sit at his right and left in his glory. All the disciples want the kingdom to come immediately so they can sit in positions of authority and power (Luke 19:11), they want Jesus to restore political power to Israel (Acts 1:6), and they want greatness within this new established Kingdom (9:34). James and John decide that the best way to ensure greatness- positions of power above the other disciples is to get Jesus to give it to them. Matthew 20:20 tells us that their mother is the one who speaks up, but Mark tells us the request came from the two brothers. Did they put their mother up to it!

Sounds all too familiar in our society? Right!

We live in a society that promotes the I-me-mine-myself idol pyramid – Just listen to some commercials today and here are some oldies and lets watch them – did you note the message?

“Have it your way!” – Burger King – play commercial

“Do yourself a favor!” – used in many commercials no clip

“You owe it to yourself!” -Tom Horton play commercial

“You deserve a break today!” – McDonalds – play commercial

Introduction:

The Idol fighting against you and I in becoming a great servant for the Kingdom of Heaven is shown below and in this pyramid I erected on the table – I call it the idol of self pyramid and I is at the top of it all!

I

Me

Mine

Myself

The pyramid idea came to Charles R. Swindol in a cartoon: It’s from his book Improving Your Serve. Page 28

He makes the following thought – about our idol pyramid “Those four words stood out in bold print. They appeared as if they were forming an enormous monument, each letter seemingly chiseled out of granite. At the base of this strange “monument” were hundreds, perhaps thousands of people with their arms held up high, as if worshipping at a shrine. And then in very small letters, this caption appeared at the bottom of the editorial cartoon. “Speaking of American cults…”

Would you agree that we have a large American cult in our society today that is centered on the 4 idols in the pyramid?

Just this week I read about a recent survey conducted with an incoming class to Harvard – the target group was the new freshmen, and they were asked to list their personal goals (I would say their personal idols), they responded in order: money, power, and reputation, in that order. These three goals of most freshmen in America today reflect back to the pyramid idol that is holding people back from a true biblical virtue “The art of serving” which was made famous by Jesus Himself!”