GOSPEL OF MARK: GOD’S SERVANT IN ACTION
FAN OR FOLLOWER?
A. Do you remember when you became a Christian?
ILLUSTRATION:
I was BAPTIZED just two weeks before my 10th birthday. My Mom had been talking to me about being BAPTIZED ever since a couple of my friends did a few weeks before. I saw that they were now
taking the communion, which I thought was cool, so I went forward the next Sunday and was baptized.
For a decade-and-half after that I went about calling myself a Christian, TEACHING Bible classes, serving as a DEACON, being involved in other MINISTRIES of the church. But then I heard a sermon at a church conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma on DISCIPLESHIP—being a true FOLLOWER of Christ, and realized that I did not understand my COMMITMENT to Christ at all when I accepted Him in BAPTISM at 10 years-old. I did it for the WRONG REASON, because my FRIENDS did and my Mom
wanted me too.
As soon as I got back from Tulsa, I had our preacher, Bob Pratt, to BAPTIZE me again at the age of 25, but this time as a true FOLLOWER of Jesus Christ.
B. Our lesson today is about a young man who, when it came to DOING the RIGHT THINGS, did a good job,
but when it came to COMMITMENT to Christ and a RELATIONSHIP with Him, he fell short.
COMMENT:
He was a WEALTHY man, and a YOUNG man. His eyes were set on RELIGIOUS matters—on TEACHERS, ETERNAL LIFE, GOOD DEEDS. He had the look of a SEEKER: he seemed willing to listen and eager to learn. He seemed a FOLLOWER-IN-THE-MAKING. But we soon learn that he wasn’t a FOLLOWER at all, but merely an ADMIRER. Or as Kyle Idleman puts it: “A FAN”—one
who follows Jesus as long as it doesn’t get too DEMANDING or UNCOMFORTABLE?
1. Mark 10:17-22 (READ and COMMENT)
ILLUSTRATION:
Mark tells us that Jesus is saying “Good-Bye” to the people as He leaves the city. He has been teaching and preaching, making friends, and changing lives. The rich young man must have stood on the edge of the crowd for days listening to Jesus teach and preach. Maybe a struggle had been going on within him, “I really should go and talk with Jesus. He seems DIFFERENT from the Pharisees and other Rabbis. He speaks with authority, so maybe he can tell me what I want to know.” Yet,
for some reason he just doesn’t go up to talk to Him.
On this day he realizes that Jesus is leaving town, and this will be the LAST CHANCE he gets to ask Him the burning question that’s been on his mind. So he runs up to Jesus, falls before Him and
asks, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? What’s the quickest way to heaven?”
This is where it gets interesting. Jesus asked, “Have you kept the commandments?” and then starts listing the Ten Commandments. The young man answers proudly, “Every single one of them, since I was boy.” Now, if Jesus was looking for a POSTER BOY for his new movement, this was the guy? YOUNG, RICH, and OBEDIENT. This is one RIGHTEOUS DUDE! I’m sure the disciples are
all thinking, “Sign this guy up! He’ll make a great FOLLOWER!”
But then Jesus gets right to the HEART of the matter: “One thing you lack,” Jesus said, “Go sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and come back and FOLLOW me.”
2. At that very moment the young man had a choice to either be a FAN or a FOLLOWER!
a. Mark 10:22- “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.”
b. He chose his WEALTH over a RELATIONSHIP with JESUS.
MESSAGE:
I. A FAN WANTS RELIGION, BUT A FOLLOWER WANTS A RELATIONSHIP
A. Here was a young man that when it came to keeping the RULES, he was highly DEDICATED.
1. In fact, since he was a boy he had been DOING exactly what Jesus said he should be doing,
“Keeping the COMMANDMENTS.”
a. I am afraid that when preachers and teachers say, “We cannot be GOOD ENOUGH or DO ENOUGH to earn SALVATION—to EARN our way to HEAVEN,” we sometimes leave the
IMPRESSION that God is not concerned about OBEDIENCE.
b. Nothing is further from the truth.
2. We cannot be a FOLLOWER of Christ, nor even have LOVE for Christ without being OBEDIENT.
a. John 8:31-32- “…If you HOLD to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know
the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
b. John 14:15- “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
c. John 15:10- “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my
Father’s commands and remain in His love.”
COMMENT:
God wants OBEDIENT FOLLOWERS. You cannot be a FAITHFUL FOLLOWER of Christ
without OBEYING the COMMANDMENTS of God.
B. On the other hand, you can be OBEDIENT to the COMMANDMENTS of God WITHOUT having a
RELATIONSHIP with His Son, Jesus.
1. This is the problem with this young man.
COMMENT:
He is extremely RELIGIOUS. He’s OBEDIENT to God’s COMMANDMENTS. Undoubtedly, he is a GOOD PERSON. But Jesus wants more than mere COMMANDMENT
KEEPING. He wants more than mere RELIGION. He wants US!
Jesus wanted this YOUNG MAN. He didn’t want his WEALTH. He didn’t want his GOOD REPUTATION (All you have to do is look at the MISFITS and OUTCASTS who had been FOLLOWING Jesus to know that). He wanted HIM. He wanted his LOVE and his DEVOTION.
2. When we have a LOVING RELATIONSHIP with God, our OBEDIENCE and SERVICE follows.
ILLUSTRATION:
Why do you come WORSHIP God on Sunday mornings instead of SLEEPING IN like so
many other Christians do?
Why did many of you show up early on a Saturday morning back in December putting together FOOD BASKETS and then DELIVERING them to FAMILIES you don’t even KNOW, just so they
can have a nice Christmas Dinner?
Why did many of you spend hours CLEANING and PAINTING Lori’s CLASSROOM and
the NURSERY getting it ORGANIZED and UP-TO-DATE?
Why do you choose to TREAT people well? Why do you REFUSE to TAKE something that
doesn’t BELONG to you? Why are you CAREFUL to use WORDS that build up instead of destroy?
Do you do these things because you HAVE to? Or do you LIVE the way you do because of your LOVING and DEVOTED relationship with God? God has been so GOOD to you, and you LOVE Him too much to LET Him DOWN or DISHONOR Him.
3. Religion with all of its RULES is something that we HAVE to DO in an ATTEMPT to appease God
so we can GO to HEAVEN. Relationship is something that WE want to DO because we LOVE God.
a. Even though this young man is asking what “he can do to inherit eternal life,” Jesus wants him to understand that he cannot EARN his way to HEAVEN merely by COMMANDMENT
KEEPING, nor can he BUY his way to HEAVEN with his GREAT WEALTH.
b. Being RELIGIOUS might get you to come to CHURCH, but it will not get you into HEAVEN. It is our RELATIONSHIP with Christ that will secure us a HOME in HEAVEN, and nothing more.
II. A FAN IS CONVINCED, BUT A FOLLOWER IS COMMITTED
A. Anytime Jesus extends the INVITATION to FOLLOW Him, there is always a CHOICE to be MADE
whether it is VERBALIZED or not. The CHOICE is either JESUS or the WORLD?
1. This was the same CHOICE this young man received.
a. I DO NOT know for sure what this young man’s MOTIVES were when he came to Jesus.
b. There was something that he SAW in and HEARD from Jesus that CONVINCED him that this
“good teacher” had the answer to receiving ETERNAL LIFE.
COMMENT:
That is certainly a WORTHY inquiry to make, in fact, the most IMPORTANT question that one can ask. Was he SINCERE? Was he just making SMALL TALK? Was he wanting Jesus to merely CONFIRM that he was on the RIGHT TRACK to ETERNAL LIFE with all of his COMMANDMENT KEEPING? Maybe he viewed HEAVEN as merely a CONSOLATION PRIZE to his GOOD DEEDS?
c. Whatever his MOTIVE, he did not expect the ANSWER that Jesus gave him.
2. Jesus makes it very clear, “Sell everything you have, give to the poor…and come follow me.”- v. 21.
a. Notice that Mark points out that “Jesus looked at him and loved him.”
COMMENT:
Jesus’ HEART goes out to this young man. He wants him to have and enjoy ETERNAL LIFE in HEAVEN, and He knows the only thing keeping him from receiving it is his LOVE for his POSSESSIONS. Do you wonder if he at least considered SELLING his POSSESSIONS and FOLLOWING Christ?
b. What do you think is going through his mind at this moment?
ILLUSTRATION:
Here he is on his KNEES before Jesus. Hopeful . . . looking for a QUICK an EASY way to
HEAVEN. But when he heard Jesus’ answer, his face falls and now he’s staring at the ground.
He may be asking himself, “What would it be like to FOLLOW Jesus? I’d be free from all the GUILT that I feel, the DOUBTS and the FEARS. I would possess this indescribable
SOMETHING that I see in Jesus and His followers.”
But on the other hand, there was the BANQUET being thrown for him that night. There was the new expensive WARDROBE that he just purchased. There was the beautiful YOUNG LADY his family had picked out for him to MARRY. There was the new CHARIOT that he was having
CUSTOM MADE.
So what is he going to do? He stands up and sadly WALKS AWAY. Why? Because he LOVED his WEALTH more than he loved JESUS. He was CONVINCED that Jesus had the answer, but he wasn’t COMMITTED to FOLLOWING Christ.
3. There is a CONTRAST in this STORY found in vv. 23-31 (READ and COMMENT)
a. When Jesus pointed out how “DIFFICULT it is for a RICH MAN to enter heaven,” Peter
reminded Him that he and the other disciples “left EVERYTHING to FOLLOW Him”- v. 28.
COMMENT:
Peter wanted Jesus to know that they weren’t merely CONVINCED that He was the Christ, they were COMMITTED to FOLLOWING Him even if it meant GIVING UP everything.
b. Then Jesus, in turn, said that they would be greatly “REWARDED with ETERNAL LIFE for their DECISION to CHOOSE Him over the WORLD”- vv. 29-30.
B. WHO or WHAT we FOLLOW all boils down to WHO or WHAT is our MASTER?
1. Jesus- “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be
devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money”- Matthew 6:24.
a. Some of you may be thinking, “You don’t have to worry about me serving money, because I don’t have any to serve.”
b. The reason that Jesus told the young man to sell his POSSESSIONS was because it was his
WEALTH that was keeping him out of heaven.
c. When the law expert came to Jesus and asked “what he can do to inherit eternal life” in Luke 10:25ff, Jesus told him to “love his neighbor as himself” because it was his PREJUDICE especially against Samaritans that was keeping him out of heaven.
2. Money may not be our MASTER, but something else may. That’s when Jesus would say:
a. You can’t serve God and SEX.
b. You can’t serve God and PORNOGRAPHY.
c. You can’t serve God and DRUGS.
d. You can’t serve God and ALCOHOL.
e. You can’t serve God and FOOD.
f. You can’t serve God and SUCCESS.
g. You can’t serve God and SPORTS.
h. You can’t serve God and SELF. (YOU FILL IN THE BLANK!)
COMMENT:
The young man could have kept his WEALTH if it wasn’t his MASTER. Whatever it is that has become our MASTER—that keeps us from faithfully FOLLOWING Jesus, we have to GIVE IT
UP—we have to put Jesus over EVERYTHING.
3. Jesus is seeking FOLLOWERS, not FANS. He wants people to be COMMITTED, not CONVINCED.
ILLUSTRATION:
It’s much easier to be an ADMIRER of Jesus than it is to be a FOLLOWER. You can ADMIRE from a DISTANCE and be relatively unaffected – but FOLLOWERS have their lives turned upside
down. They aren’t the same.
What Jesus was asking of this man, was the normal price of being a disciple. Jesus was not calling people to POVERTY, but to complete FAITH and TRUST in Him—to completely SURRENDER their lives to Him.
CONCLUSION:
A. Matthew 13:45-46- “…the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
ILLUSTRATION:
Charles Swindoll in his book: Improving Your Serve presents a CONVERSATION between a man (who represents you and me) and God, based on this parable. The PEARL represents KINGDOM LIVING—our RELATIONSHIP with Christ.
“How much is the PEARL? Does it cost me anything?”
“Well,” the Lord said, “it’s very expensive.”
“But, how much!” we ask.
“Well, a very large amount.”
“Do you think I could obtain it?”
“Oh, of course, everyone can obtain it.”
“But didn’t you say it was very expensive?”
“Yes.”
“Well, how much is it?”
“Everything you have,” says the Lord.
We make up our minds, “All right, I’ll take it,” we say.
“Well, what do you have?” He wants to know. “Let’s write it down.”
“Let’s see, I have ten thousand dollars in the bank.”
“Good?ten thousand dollars. What else?”
“That’s all. That’s all I have.”
“Nothing more?”
“Well, I have few dollars in my pocket.”
“How much?”
We start digging. “Well, let’s see?five, ten, twenty. Twenty-eight dollars and 32 cents.”
“That’s fine. What else do you have?”
“Nothing. That’s everything.”
“Where do you live?” He’s still probing.
“In my house. Oh, yes, I own a house.”
“The house, too then.” He writes that down.
“You mean I have to live in my camper?”
“Oh, you have a camper? That, too. What else.”
“I’ll have to sleep in my car.”
“You have a car?”
“Two of them.”
“Both become mine. What else do you have?”
“Well, you already have my money, my house, my camper, my cars. What else do you want?”
“Are you alone in this world?”
“No . . . I have a wife and two children . . .”
“Yes, your wife and children become mine, too. What else?”
“That’s it. I have nothing left. I am left alone now.”
Suddenly the Lord exclaims, “Oh, I almost forgot! You yourself, too! Everything becomes mine?wife, children, house, money, cars, camper?and you too.”
Then He goes on. “Now listen?I will allow you to use all these things for the time being. They are yours to enjoy. But don’t forget that they belong to me, just as you do. You’re just borrowing them. And whenever I need any of them you must give them up, because everything that you have is mine.”
ARE YOU A FAN OR A FOLLOWER?
