Text: Mark 10:32-34, Title: Determined Discipleship, Date/Place: NRBC, 4/6/08, PM
A. Opening illustration: Explain the choosing of a disciple in Jesus’ day, "Utterly ordinary, so commonplace: while we profess to know a power the 20th century cannot reckon with. We are all sideliners, coaching and criticizing the real wrestlers while content to set by and leave the enemies of God unchallenged. We are spiritual pacifists, conscientious objectors in the battle-to-the-death, with principalities and powers in the heavenly places. The world cannot hate us, we are too much like its own. Oh that God would make us dangerous.” --Jim Elliot
B. Background to passage: Jesus has been dealing with discipleship issues as he makes a final swing through Perea and Jericho on his way to Jerusalem. In fact, Mark identifies Jerusalem as his destination in this text tonight for the first time. Here Jesus begins to describe in detail what will happen in Jerusalem to his disciples. This is the third time that he has predicted his own death. Comparatively speaking, this is the most detailed. However, even now, the disciples don’t get it.
C. Main thought: But we can draw out four truths related to discipleship
A. Always about following Jesus (v. 32)
1. It was tradition among rabbis and disciples that disciples walk after their master. But Mark gives this great emphasis by using a word that means to lead out front. He gives Jesus an air of determined, fixed, single-minded leadership as he plows the way for the disciples. And it emphasizes the point that discipleship is about following Jesus.
2. 21X Jesus said “Follow Me,” Ps 63:8,
3. Illustration: Kierkegaard once said “To become an ‘admirer of Jesus’ is much easier than to become a follower.” Bob Crabtree, AG Superintendent of Ohio, tells while in the USSR, he saw two shepherds come together in the middle of the road. They had 300 sheep all become one group. He had to wait as the shepherds talked. Finally, Bob wondered how would they ever separate all those sheep? As the one shepherd was leaving, in a low voice he bade his sheep come. The two groups separated instantly and went their ways, “the dust of your rabbi is all over you,” tell about the disciple of Socrates who was seeking…
4. Discipleship is not about going to church, saying “the prayer,” giving money, reading your bible, although it may include all those things; it is about following Jesus. It is about going where he goes, doing what he wants you to do, taking up the cross and getting the dust of Jesus all over you. This is what confuses me about people who get mad and quit church. You cannot fix your hope nor your eyes upon men, or upon organizations, but on Jesus alone. Simple question: what have you done to facilitate your following Jesus today? What cross have you taken up? What instruction in the Word have you followed? What has he spoken to you or led you to do today? Is your guiding principle in your Christian life that of following Jesus? What have you changed in your life this year to look more like Jesus?
B. Always about being amazed/afraid (v. 32)
1. Secondly, discipleship involves being amazed and afraid. In both cases the words are in the imperfect tense, meaning they could be translated “kept on being amazed/afraid.” Even after three years 24/7 with Jesus, they were still amazed by the presence of Jesus. They were astonished by his love, power, actions, commitment, etc. They were afraid because they knew that their followership of Jesus could cost them their lives in Jerusalem. But they didn’t shrink back. They acknowledged their fear and their willingness to die with Jesus.
2. Rev 12:11, John 11:16, James 4:4, 2 Tim 1:7, Matt 10:28,
3. Illustration: Do the thing about wonder with numbers, “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved,” tell about the cadet answering the question on the final exam about what he would do in a catastrophe, If there is one characteristic more than others that contemporary public worship needs to recapture it is this awe before the surpassingly great and gracious God. Your grace still amazes me…
4. Our church is very seldom in awe of Jesus. Most individuals are not in awe of Jesus. When was the last time you were absolutely blown away by Jesus? Is He big enough? We need to work at being in awe of Jesus and his glory. We need to strive to be in his presence so that the awe doesn’t leave. Strive to be in his Word, and pray that God would open your eyes to it. Pray that God will give you a biblical perspective of yourself, and of Him. This is the cure for small mindedness. Pray that God would help you think God-proportioned thoughts. Don’t let fear undermine your commitment to Jesus. Encourage the mission team members to overcome their fear by the word of your testimony and the blood of the Lamb. Not been given fear, but let real fear overcome inferior fear.
C. Always about learning from Jesus (v. 32)
1. After three and a half years at seminary, I thought I knew a lot. But could you imagine after spending three years 24/7 with Jesus, you would think you had most of it down. But Jesus is still taking his disciples aside and instructing them in the faith. How could a finite creature know it all about an infinite God? Worse how could we see knowledge of God as being unimportant. Our struggle for joy in Christ is granted victory as we gain new experiential knowledge and new spiritual sight of Jesus. To achieve joy we must see and savor Jesus Christ.
2. 1 Cor 2:10, Pro 2:2, Heb 2:1,
3. Illustration: R. G. Lee told about walking down the street and a drunk staggered up to him and said, “Oh, Preacher, I’m one of your converts.” The preacher looked at him and said, “Yeah, you look like one of mine. You certainly don’t look like one of the Lord’s.” Tell about Tom Elliff’s testimony about the things that they learned about Jesus through the valley of his wife’s cancer, The white-haired old scientist smiled, looked the young lady in the eyes and slowly stated. “Why I devote myself to the study of physics.” The girl looked at him in astonishment. “You mean to say you study physics at your age?” she exclaimed. “I finished mine a year ago.”
4. The two traps that Satan gets believers into are that they do know it all, or what they don’t know is not important. So we don’t seek because we think we don’t need to, or we think that it really doesn’t matter. Do you ever get aside with Jesus? When was the last time that God really taught you something? When was the last time that you thought you learned something new from the Word? Some of us don’t sit still long enough to have Him speak, let alone hear what He says. To deal with this we need to confess our arrogance and our apathy, and begin to seek the Lord, learning, studying, reading, longing for the deep things of the Spirit. Read the supplemental reading.
D. Always about the mission of life (v. 33-34)
1. Jesus explained to them the things that would happen to him when they got to Jerusalem. These things include the reason for which He came. Penultimately that He would die for the sins of the world, and rise again, so that we might be saved. But ultimately that He might bring glory to His Father by completing His will, making Him just and the justifier, and declaring His worth and truth to a watching world.
2. John 12:27, 18:37, Heb 10:8-9, 1 Tim 1:15,
3. Illustration: There was a preacher in 19th century Scandinavia who, in the vestry one Sunday morning, heard that the King would be present at worship. Understandably rattled he ditched his well prepared sermon and spoke on and on about the Christian virtues of their King. Even though the King said nothing after the service the preacher could not help but wonder if he would receive some reward for his loyal support. Sure enough some time later a very large crate was delivered to the Church. Immediately the priest concluded that his reward had arrived. He pried open the crate to find inside a life sized crucifix. He could hardly contain his disappointment "We’ve got lots of crucifixes already," he thought. As he looked inside the crate he saw a letter under the royal seal. Excitedly he opened it. The letter contained the king’s instructions as to the placement of the crucifix in the Church. It was to go on the western wall of the Church so that the preacher would always be reminded of which king he should be speaking,” “My Goal is God Himself...at any cost, dear Lord, by any road.”--Oswald Chambers, Sununu, a former governor of New Hampshire, then explained why he felt his job was easy: "I have only one constituent." He knew his job was to please the President.
4. As I stated this morning, we are created that we might make much of Jesus for the joy of all the peoples of the world, so that they might know His sufficiency, and worship and embrace Him. But our lives are assaulted by less than ultimate purposes that have a tendency to blur our vision and priorities to what is really important. The main tenant of discipleship is to fix our eyes upon Jesus and emulated His goal, which is to bring honor and glory to Him as that the most valuable treasure in the universe. And the violence spoken about in the NT is not violence toward others, but violence against ourselves. And it seems even more the case nowadays that we must fight to keep the main thing the main thing. For some of us we must make the glorification of God the main thing first, then keep it there. Just as Jesus knew the purpose for which He had been called, so we too must pursue our purpose with violent diligence, pushing aside all other distractions and temptations for the glory of Christ! This applies to job, marriage, friends, hobbies, money, possessions, etc.
A. Closing illustration: Pastor Jack Hayford tells the following story…Early in his career, Matt Redman, the popular Christian musician in Britain, was singing with his church’s praise band when his pastor confronted them. They were proud of their musical performance, he said, but they were neglecting true worship. Insulted by the charge, the members of the band left the church—all, that is, except Redman.
Shortly afterward, he wrote his hit song "The Heart of Worship," which included these words: "I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about you, Jesus."
B. Recap
C. Invitation to commitment
Additional Notes
• Is Christ Exalted, Magnified, Honored, and Glorified?
