Mark 10:35-45 – Improving Your Serve
Today we are continuing our journey through the purposes of the church, the 5 God-given directions for what He wants His church to look like. We have seen that this church exists to Glorify God, to praise Him, to lift Him up, to worship Him, to point to Him in all we do. This church also exists to Reach out to others, to share Jesus’ love with those around us, to remember that the church is not a social club that exists just to make its members happy. This church also exists to Aspire to live like Jesus, to love as Jesus loves, to forgive as Jesus forgives, to grow and to change and to conform to be like Jesus. Next week we’ll see, in a creative worship time, that this church exists to Encourage others, to build each other up, to lift up the spirits of others, to help them in their times of need.
As for this week, we’ll see that this church exists to Commit to serve others. Every person alive has gifts, talents and abilities that God can use to make the world a better place, and to help others draw closer to Him. And every believer has been given what we call spiritual gifts, special abilities that the Spirit inside us can use to bring people closer to God. This applies to every person, every scoundrel and every saint, and everyone in between.
But I refuse to guilt anyone today. I refuse to make anyone feel bad about what they have or don’t have, what they do or don’t do. So today, I will share some scripture, tell 2 stories, tie them altogether, and end with asking for a chance to evaluate your heart and your service.
Today’s passage comes from Mark 10:35-45. Let’s take this apart piece by piece.
V35 begins this little tale, about 2 followers of Jesus, 2 brothers, figure they want something. They want a favour from the Lord. Jesus, of course knowing full well, still asks in v36: “What do you want?” And then, here it is… Lord, we want to be rulers. Sure, we’re OK with you being the Big Guy, but Lord, we want to be right up there too. One of us on your left, one of your right. We’ll let you make the decisions, but we’ll be in on it too.
How many of us have asked the same question? Lord, I don’t want to be in charge, but I want to be noticed, to know what’s going on, to be in on Your decisions with You. I don’t want to be the boss, but I want all the stuff that goes along with that.
But Jesus didn’t shrug them off. He explained to them that they had no idea what they were asking. He said that He was about to go through rough times – a bitter cup of sorrow and a baptism of suffering. He said that being in charge is not about getting your own way. He said that being the leader - being a godly one, anyway - is about doing what is good for others.
They said they were able – v39. And Jesus said that they would drink the bitter cup and have the baptism of suffering. But as for thrones in heaven, well, that wasn’t for Him to decide.
Well, the others found out. And they weren’t impressed – v41. What makes you 2 more special than us? Why are you more important? Why do you think you deserve a higher ranking than us?
Then Jesus tells us some very important words, words He demonstrated in His life. V42-45 – “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 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.”
Jesus says that leadership is about servanthood. He says that if you want to be great, you must first serve. If you want to be a great Christian, you must serve. If this church is to be great, there must be servants among us. Christ set the example for us. He is Lord, Master and Ruler of all, King of Creation, the most VIP in the universe. And He served others. He served bread and wine to His friends. He washed the feet of those who would run away from Him. He gave His life as an act of serving those who cannot help themselves. Jesus showed that being great means being a servant.
So what is serving? Someone said that it’s when you do something for someone for which you do not get paid. That would include laundry and dishes. I think serving is doing anything because you love Jesus and you love people.
But motives matter just as much as ministry; the why is as important as the what. Jesus knew plenty of people who did the right things with wrong motives, and He wasn’t impressed. So serving out of motives like guilt or tradition doesn’t really do anything for God.
And service does not replace relationship – just ask Mary and Martha. Doing stuff for God without caring about your relationship to God doesn’t excite Him either. God isn’t asking you to jump to the moon for Him. He just wants you to serve Him and His people out of clean motives, and don’t use it as a replacement for your relationship with Him.
Story #1. My favourite spot here on CSI is the walk from Cat Rock to Clam Point. It’s a beautiful location, quiet and peaceful, and I love meeting God there. But along the way, you will walk by several ponds. Some of the ponds are quite nice. But some of them are not. Stinky, slimy, and green. And then other ponds aren’t really so much ponds anymore. They’re just a dry bed with cracked mud.
Now, there are 2 reasons why ponds become ineffective, unable to support life besides algae and mosquito larvae. 2 reasons, I mean, besides pollution. The 1st reason is that ponds with no inlet will dry up. Ponds with no inlet will just have all their water trickle out of them, run off into the sea, and nothing to replace that lost water. And the 2nd reason is that ponds with no outlet will stagnate. The water just evaporates, and leaves a thick residue of gunk, which keeps building up. Everything flows in, and nothing flows out, and it gets slimy.
You see, a pond needs to receive fresh water, and to pour out the same. In the same way, Christians need to receive God’s grace and to extend God’s grace so they don’t dry up or stagnate. A believer who doesn’t receive God’s grace will dry up, and a believer that doesn’t give out grace will stagnate and grow moldy and slimy. It’s that simple.
Worship is not what you do on Sundays – it’s a lifestyle about giving yourself to Him. And Story #2… You remember the story from back in the spring of Al and Rita Chretien, the couple from British Colombia who were trying to drive to Las Vegas for a trade show. They took a wrong turn and went missing on March 19. They got stranded in the mountain of northeast Nevada after their van slid off a desolate road and into a gulley. Al left Rita in the van and went in search for help, and has never been seen again.
Meanwhile, Rita survived in the van for 7 weeks until she was found on May 6 in an interesting story. Enter Chad Herman, his wife Whitnie and her father Troy Sills. They were out on their 4-wheelers looking for elk antlers. They had intended to take one route, which would have led them right, up into a canyon, but Mr. Sills made a wrong turn and led them left.
Mr. Sills said, "The funny thing is that usually when we do that, I'll always wait, or he'll wait for me to get up and discuss it, and for some reason I didn't wait -- just kept going around that corner." He said that he didn’t know what pushed him to head in that direction, but he felt a compulsion to keep on going.
That’s when they saw the Chretiens’ van, where it had been stuck for 7 weeks. They came up to the van, with signs in its windows that said, “stuck” and blankets draped over the windows. They also saw Mrs. Chretien, and asked if she was OK. She said no, having survived on melted snow for weeks. She was airlifted to a nearby hospital and released after only a couple of days.
What I find interesting about this story is the role that God played in the story.
Rita Chretien read her Bible, wrote in her journal, read books, and prayed that God would protect her as she survived for seven weeks in the Nevada wilderness. Her son Raymond said that she was ready to either "go home to be with her Savior or be rescued.
While stranded in that van, Rita often returned to a passage from Psalms 86, "In the day of my trouble, I call upon you, for you answer me," as she told reporters from CTV News-British Columbia.
Her pastor said, “She told me that every day she felt like Jesus was sitting right there beside her and that at the time she thought she could just reach out and touch him. She said she felt the Lord had told her that her ordeal was going to end Friday, and that is the day she was found."
So how did God choose to save Rita’s life? By sending believers. Chad Herman said, "We feel it was meant to be and I think it was the heavenly father leading us in the right direction.”
And Chad’s wife Whitnie said she was thankful for the role that she and her family played in helping to save Ms. Chretien’s life. Quote: “I feel we answered the family’s prayers, we answered her prayers. We were in the right place at the right time.”
Folks, the reality is… God works through His people who are in the right place at the right time. Today, decide to be that person, to be available for God to use. Today you are getting a handout, a non-comprehensive list of ministries here at CUBC, a list of ways that a person could serve God.
SUNDAY MORNING
Music – singing, instrumentals
Drama, puppets, interpretive dance
Creating videos for worship
Making/bringing snacks
Inviting and/or driving people to church
Junior High Sunday school teacher
Substitute teachers
Ushers, greeters
Junior church leaders
Pastoral prayer team
Scripture readers
WEEKLY OR ON OCCASION
Janitorial services
Benevolence – cards, organizing food, etc.
Social committee
Decorating committee
Youth leaders/volunteers
Visitation ministry
Start a Bible study or prayer group
Creative ministries like art, horticulture or tapestry
COMING UP
Operation Christmas Child
Christmas devotionals
