A Measure of Success
Mark 3:7-19
(Preached at FUMC, McMinnville, Tn by Dr. Steve Angus on 4/30/2006)
Hasn’t this been an exciting morning? It is not every day that you have the opportunity to recognized a class of graduating Seniors. Once again on behalf of your church family, I commend you for your accomplishments. You and your families have reason to be proud.
As the commercial of television so vividly describes, from this moment on, “Life will be coming at you fast.” Some of you have plans to go immediately to work; other own to college; some perhaps are still deciding.
With this in mind, I want us to consider an important question. This is not just a question for the graduate. It is a question for all of us.
The question is this, “How are we to measure success?”
There are many who say that the measure of success has to do with money. Like the board game, Monopoly, it is a matter of how much you have been able to accumulate by the end of the game.
In a commencement speech given on May 15, 2000 at Emerson College in Boston, multi-billionaire Ted Turner talks about success:
It’s all relative . . . I sit down and say, I’ve only got $10 billion, but Bill Gates has $100 billion; I feel like I’m a complete failure in life. So billions won’t make you happy if you’re worried about someone who’s got more than you. . . . So don’t let yourself get caught in a trap of measuring your success by how much material success you have. (Ted Turner, People, June 12, 2000, p. 62)
Is success for a Christian to be measured by the size of the company? The size of the collection? To be recognized by the masses? If these are the criteria we use to measure success then we would have to say, that the passage we read from Mark describes a successful day in the ministry of Jesus.
We are told that people came from everywhere. It began with a large group of locals but soon word spread and people came from the regions to the north and south, some came from the large cities like Jerusalem, while others crossed the Jordan River. They arrived in droves for the sole purpose of being near Jesus.
The needs of the people varied. Some had deformed limbs. Others could not see or speak or hear. There were so many trying to get to Jesus that the press of the crowd nearly crushed him. Finally, a boat was brought near the shore where Jesus could stand in it and minister to the people.
Imagine this, so powerful was the work of Jesus that those who were possessed by evil spirits fell down before him. As the demons came out of them they would cry out, “You are the Son of God!"
What a way to end the day! Demons bearing witness to who Jesus was. One could not ask for greater press! Can’t you see the see the headlines in the Jerusalem Chronicle: Devils Proclaim Local Preacher, Son of God!? Surely this was the high point of Jesus’ ministry. Success had arrived! Sweet, sweet success!
But suddenly, Jesus does a most unusual thing. He tells the demons to keep quiet. In fact, the Bible says that Jesus didn’t just tell them to be quiet, "He sternly ordered them not to make him known." Why? Wouldn’t this have made Jesus’ work easier? Can you imagine the response of the people if demons were flying all over the place pointing to Jesus and saying, "Hey, here is the Son of God?" Success would be assured! Why command them to keep quiet?
We cannot answer this question apart from the following episode.
We are told that Jesus went up into the hills and called to him those he wanted and they came to him. From this small group he chose twelve men to be his disciples. In verses 14-15 he tells them that as his followers they had three basic responsibilities. Listen to what he said:
And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons.
The first responsibility in being a disciple of Jesus was to simply "be with him". From this moment forward the disciple spent just about every waking moment with Jesus. They were with him when he reached out his hand and performed his acts of mercy. They were there when he preached his powerful sermons and told those simple, yet unforgettable parables. By being with Jesus they learned and came to know that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. Because they spent time with Jesus their lives were changed forever.
In Acts Chapter Four, we have the story of how Peter and John healed a man who been a cripple. After this healing they began to preach and were eventually arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin Court, where Brother Peter starts preaching again. Do you remember what the reaction of the court was? Acts 4:13 says:
"When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."
Believe me, when we have been with Jesus, people will take notice. We will be different in the way we do things, the way we speak; the way in which we care about people. We can’t be with Jesus and not have some changes take place.
Notice the second responsibility of the disciples. Verse 14 states: "He appointed twelve - designating them apostles - that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach." What were they to preach? The message they were to proclaim was the same truth the demons made, "Jesus is the Son of God." So what was the difference? Why tell the demons to keep silent and then turn around and tell the disciples to preach it?
The difference? The demons were telling the truth, Jesus is the Son of God, but their witness was based on the power of Jesus being able to destroy them. Theirs was a confession all right; a confession of fear! They wanted nothing to do with Jesus because they realized he was opposed to everything they stood for.
The disciples’ message was an entirely different matter, they had been with Jesus! The disciple had spent time with Jesus. Their witness was based not on fear of what Jesus could do to them but was grounded in Jesus’ power to liberate and create. Theirs was a confession of faith!
Notice how this faith relates to the third responsibility of the disciples. Not only were they to be with Jesus, and then go out and preach, they were given authority to drive out demons. They had been set free because of their faith, now they were to go out and help to set others free. They had good news to share and they were going to share it.
How are we to measure success?
According to Jesus’ standards, success is not based on the size of the paycheck or the size of one’s house, or the type of vehicle we drive. Success is based on whether or not we are doing three things:
#1 Are we spending time with Jesus.
#2 Are we helping others to recognize their value to God; that God loves them.
#3 Are we helping other to confront the demons in their own lives and helping them through the power of God to be set free.
If we have had a life changing experience with Jesus, we will share the Good News and encourage others to share this Good News with those they know.
Joseph F. Girzone has written a powerful little novel entitled Joshua. The central theme of the book is "What would Jesus be like if he came and lived in our modern world?" The names Joshua and Jesus come from the same Hebrew word so Joshua is Jesus in this story.
In one episode a very wealthy man is watching Joshua and is amazed at his simple lifestyle and his lack of concern for money and possession. Finally the rich man, Aaron, asks Joshua how he became the way he was and why he believed the way he did. Listen to his response:
Each person looks at life through a different vision. Three men can look at a tree. One man will see so many board feet of valuable lumber worth so much money. The second man will see it as so much firewood to be burned, to keep his family warm in the winter. The third man will see it as a masterpiece of God’s creative art, given to man as an expression of God’s love and enduring strength, with a value far beyond its worth in money or firewood. What we live for determines what we see in life and gives clear focus to our inner vision."
I guess the question for us today is, "What do we see in Jesus?"
Are we like the masses that day by the lake who saw Jesus as a mere magician who could mysteriously cure people?
Are we like the demons who saw Jesus as someone to fear?
Or are we like the apostles? Do we see Jesus as the Son of God? Are we willing to place our total faith and trust in him?
Are we willing to stake our life on him?
Nathan, Sam, Nick, Amanda, Amanda, Candi, Jared: The ultimate measure of success is what we decide to do with Jesus.
