"No One Like Him In This World”

Whatever you may think of Jesus Christ, there is no One like Him in this world. This sermon title is referring to our Savior. Our subject has to do with any person who takes our Savior’s call to discipleship seriously. And we take note of the 35th verse from today’s Gospel, Mark 9 . . .”Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

So we ask, What’s the meaning of “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all”? Well, The Message translation of the verse says, “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.” A related verse is Mark 8:34, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Many times pastors have recalled the ancient legend that when Jesus arrived in heaven, the angel Gabriel asked what plans he had made for his work to continue. He replied that he'd left it all in the hands of the disciples. "And if they fail?" asked Gabriel. "I have no other plans", replied Jesus. Of course that's a legend but it makes sense. Jesus wanted His disciples to carry forward what He’d begun. He entrusted the entire future to them.

And what he’d begun was to renew, to redeem, to save the world through sacrificial love; to follow him in compassionate ministry. Guess what? Such work might well take us where we don’t want to go; put us with people with whom we’re not comfortable, doing tasks we wouldn’t choose on our own.

A war correspondent paused in a war zone to watch a nun as she unwrapped a wounded soldier’s leg. Gangrene had set in. The stench was so repulsive he turned away and mumbled under his breath, “I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars.” She glanced up and said, “Neither would I.” Because of who she was, she didn’t have to add - “But I do it for Jesus’ sake - and out of love for him.”

Those who follow after Jesus, says in Mark 9:35 and many more chapters and verses:

Deny self Take up your cross Follow Me

I read somewhere that "the entrance fee to the Christian life is nothing at all, but the annual subscription is everything you have." It fits well with my preaching professor who said that our life with God will sweep us off our feet! You cannot tell where it will take you. Those who have known God have been ‘stoned and sawn asunder and tempted and slain with the sword. They have been in prison; and at stakes [think Joan of Arc); and on a cross have cried aloud, ‘My God, My God, why?’ (Mark 15:34).Then he said life with God may make us feel life is even out of control. That something other than our personal will is controlling us:

“Paul felt that about Christ. ‘It is not I that live but Christ who liveth in me.’ (Galatians 2:20). ‘It is a fearful thing (says Hebrews 10:31) to fall into the hands of the living God.’ Paul began many of his letters with the words, ‘For this cause, I, the prisoner of Christ.’ (e.g., Ephesians 3:1). No, life with God is not easy.”

This entire challenge of the Christian life can pull us in many directions. I remember the story of a woman who tried very hard to live a Christian life. She was very sincere about it, and, to tell the truth, was quite similar to many others. She thought Christian salvation was in works and behaviors, and needed to grasp the Good News of God’s grace, God’s love manifested within her, “Being justified as a gift by God’s grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). To know that God, in his prevenient grace, acting long before we knew it, produced salvation for us. As the Message version puts it, “Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.” She was not alone with such a problem. However, her husband was not a Christian, and had no interest in being one. He preferred going to bars and being with the sorts of friends he could make there. She asked for Christian counseling about what to do. The husband strongly objected to her going to church, and accused her of not wanting to be with him at the bars. So finally she decided she would start going to the bars with him. That choice created a little fork in the road for her. No, actually a big fork in the road! When she came to that fork in the road, was it a wise decision? Are daily choices important? How much influence do they have upon our journey of life?