Jul 21

Written by: Michael A. Milton
7/21/2008 7:25 PM

I have been told that I have reached that magical age when I need to have a certain routine medical procedure, a test, just to make sure everything is okay.
Such tests also come in life.

I once heard the Dean of a medical school tell to his students that the world wants them to be professionals. But what the world needs is healers. He was giving them their final test, the test of servanthood.

In the same way, our seminary, RTS Charlotte must not be in the business of producing credentialed clergy, but rather Christ-minded servants.

What about you? What about your preacher today? As we read Mark 9:33-37 we come to a test: a test of servanthood. I pray that by God's grace no one will leave here today without passing God's test.

Let me set the scene:

A lot has happened since Peter, James, John and Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration. Most of it had to do with preparing the disciples for, well, discipleship. Their prayerlessness was revealed. When Jesus taught, again, about His coming death and resurrection, their silence called into question their understanding of what Messiah was supposed to be. Their pride was revealed.

But thank God that Jesus doesn’t leave us where He finds us. We will learn this as we read again from the Gospel of Mark 9:33-37. This is the inerrant and infallible Word of God.

And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”  But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.  And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”  And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them,  “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.  Isaiah 40.8
Let us pray.
Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Thy sight, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

Introduction to the Sermon
Once upon a time there was this young artist. He was studying under a master. People gave great sums to have the master artist create an oil painting. People adored the master. So the young artist thought, “If only I could use one of his brushes, then I too will be able to produce a great painting. People will treat me the way they treat my master.” So he asked for a brush and his master obliged. He painted picture after picture. But the desired effect never happened. So he returned downcast. “This brush didn't help me at all.” The master replied, “It is not my brush that you need. It is my passion.”

Eugene Peterson’s words in his book, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, says it all, “We cannot participate in God’s work but then insist on doing it our own way…We can’t live a life more like Jesus by embracing a way of life less like Jesus.”

The question arising out of Mark 9:33-37 is exactly this: “Am I embracing a way of life that is more or less like Jesus’ way of life?”

It is amazing that the disciples of Jesus, who at this time did not understand the Gospel of a Suffering Servant, who wanted an earthly Lord of the realm but not a Lord of their heart, a Messiah for Israel but not a Messiah for the world, were afraid to ask Jesus about His Lordship in their lives. But they were not afraid to argue about who was the greatest!

My Aunt Eva used to tell me, whenever she heard Muhammad Ali say that he was the greatest, that God doesn’t like such boasting and that I should never do it. Well, these disciples make Muhammad Ali look meek and humble. In doing so, we just may see ourselves.

I think it is hard to disengage from our culture completely. Our culture is infatuated with power and ambition and success. But the question must be, “Am I embracing a way of life more or less like Jesus’ way of life?”

Two things need to be said from this passage.

First, when we look at this text we see that concern for status in this world is incompatible with the kingdom of God.

As the Lord and the disciples gather in a home in Capernaum, the Lord asks what the disciples had been discussing on their way. They do not say for they are ashamed. They were discussing who was the greatest. This sort of talk cannot be the talk of Jesus’ disciples. Why?

First, it distances us from the Lord.

The reason the Lord asks about the discussion is not because He didn't know. It is because the talk went on between them. Jesus was not a part of it. Simone Weil said it best. “It is not my business to think about myself. My business is to think about God. It is for God to think about me.” (Something Beautiful for God, p. 58)

Who are you thinking about in your life as a disciple of Jesus? Do you know that at the PCA General Assembly (June, 2008), there were probably a lot of disciples of Jesus, men who are ministers, concerned about ambition and status in the kingdom. The conversations tended to revolve around worldly success. “How many members?” “How many seats?” It is not so different from what is happening here. But when we are concerned with self-promotion or self-enhancement, or any status in this world, we are not concerned about Jesus or His mission in the world.

Another thing is this. Concern for worldly status not only distances us from Jesus, but it divides us as believers.

The disciples were arguing. Self-aggrandizement had led to argument. It can do no other. This is a threat to the mission of Jesus in this world. James, the brother of our Lord, wrote a book about it. He warned a congregation in James 4:1:

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?  (James 4:1)

Look what happens in Washington DC when a president is elected. I read that one senator described it with words like, “scratching, drooling, and lusting” for a presidential appointment. It is Potomac Fever.
But all of us can have a fever or lusting for power, a desire to be seen, or to be served. The Bible says this is the flesh. It is not of God but a part of our fallen condition. This condition, which is self-seeking, brings division. Go to a family court for a day and you will witness this sort of division. Marriages are under siege by ambition and self-seeking and wanting their own way. Families disintegrate before your eyes. Such self-seeking can happen in the Church. There are enough enemies of the church without the church turning against itself. But when we seek status in the world we will divide.

Third, the concern for status in the world is delusional.

I mean to say that when we are driven by ambition we are fleshly and not producing eternal fruit in the lives of the people around us. You will note that human beings, other than the disciples’ own agendas, were not under discussion. But somehow, if there was going to be an earthly kingdom, there had to be assistants, and they were already concerned about who would be the prime minister to the king. This kind of talk cannot meet the mission of Jesus and it cannot produce eternal dividends. Paul wrote about works in this life in 1 Cor. 3:12-15:

If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.  If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

One day all of our motivations will be revealed. Some of the things we have done in this world, as His disciples, will be shown to be for our own good. Not for the kingdom. We are under a delusion if we think that ambition seeking or being seen or gaining power in this world will bring God's blessings. But someone says, "It works! For the gold-gilded preacher gets a big audience. Or the power-center church gets the attendance. Or using worldly ways in worship will pack 'em in. But that was never Jesus' goal. It must not be ours. For as Jesus said about a proud religious leader who wanted others to know him for his great generosity, "Truly he has his reward."

So all of this is brought to our attention in the Scriptures so that our hearts may be bruised beneath the reality that if it happened to these men, it can happen to us. We can be driven by worldly concerns even in our lives as His people. But this distances us from the Lord, divides us as believers, and is actually delusional. For fleshly concerns for status in this world cannot produce spiritual fruit. Concern for status in this world is incompatible with the kingdom of God.

So, Jesus teaches us a better way. This is the second great truth of this passage:
Concern for status in the world is incompatible, but concern for status in the kingdom of God is invaluable.

Jesus used their concern for power and ambition. But He redirects it in two ways.

First, He shows that believers must become the servant to all.

Jesus says that if they would be first, they must be last. He is saying, “You want to be great? Be the servant of all.”

This truth came to me as a pastor a few years ago when I was studying Paul’s epistles in order to teach seminary students. I came across Paul’s assessment of his ministry:

Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.  2 Timothy 2:10

I had just heard a well-known seminar speaker tell a thousand pastors that if you really want to succeed in the ministry, you need to watch out for the troubled people who can slow you down. And be careful not to get too controversial in your preaching or teaching. You may lose someone. And whatever you do, don't get bogged down with too much one on one counseling. I kid you not. He said those things. I walked out and was still thinking about those things as I was looking at the tapes he was offering. One set of tapes was, “How to Dress Like a Senior Pastor.” I got out of there as soon as I could.

When I had the opportunity to teach future pastors I didn’t want them hearing that. I wanted them to see that Paul said, “He endured everything for the sake of the elect that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Jesus Christ.” One expects that Paul would say, “I do it all for the Gospel.” And Paul said that. But he also said that he did it for the saints, for those who are being saved.

I have told this story before but it bears repeating. I was at General Assembly one time and was in a group of fellows leaving the floor of the General Assembly to get some refreshments and visit the rest room. On the way there, we saw Dr. D. James Kennedy and Dr. Frank Barker sitting up in shoeshine chairs, getting their shoes shined by this shoeshine girl. One in the group said, “Would you look at those big shots just sitting up there getting their shoes shined.” We walked on and when we returned, the man who said that about dropped his cup. Those two prominent ministers were on their knees holding the hands of the shoeshine girl as she prayed to receive Christ.

I told this story one time in another church and the minister who had derided Drs Kennedy and Barker came up to me and said, “I am the man who said that. And I got to tell you: since that time, I have never been the same. The Lord used that to convict me that I should be living my life to share Jesus Christ with others.”

Are you using what God has given you to serve others?

I want to bring this down even further. Yesterday, I was talking with a very successful businessman who is often asked by new businesses to invest in their companies. I was talking to him about this passage. And he said, “Oh, I know exactly what the Lord is talking about. You see when I walk into one of these new companies, sometimes I see that the CEO is so proud of his accomplishments that he begins to lose sight of the customer. He will have really poured the money and the time and the energy into enhancing his building and his cars and other things. That tells me that he has lost focus on the customer and is focused on himself.”

I wonder if there is anyone here who has lost focus on serving others? Maybe a husband who is not serving his wife? Or a wife who is not serving her family? Or maybe it is a Christian who has received so much from the Lord, but your focus is on yourself. Remember that old saying, “Blessed to be a blessing”? It's true. That is what Jesus is teaching us. That is the status we want.

About that time Jesus spotted a little child in the room. I wonder whose child it was? Or maybe he came in just because he was drawn to Jesus. We could imagine that they did not notice the child, for in another setting they forbid mothers from bringing their babies for Jesus to touch them. Jesus picks up the child and places the child in the midst of the disciples. He was showing them, “Now here is your equal. This is also a disciple.” Jesus takes the child in His arms. What a scene! The word for child here is, in the Aramaic, the same word for servant in the Aramaic: talya. “Here is a true servant. He trusts Me. He wants to be near Me.” And Jesus says, “Whoever receives one such child in My name receive Me, and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”

Here is the second concern we should have about status in the kingdom of service to others:

Believers must become the servants of the least of all.

James was concerned that the congregation was showing favoritism. And James warns:

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of gory. For is a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there,’ or ‘Sit down at my feet,’ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (James 2:1-4)

Through the history of revival God moves when there is a commitment to prayer, a commitment to His Word, and to strong truths that humble men and exalt the holiness of Almighty God. I have also noticed that when God moves among His people, changes happen in society. Those who are least esteemed in society are blessed. In the Reformation, the common people were elevated. It was no longer just the clergy or the nobles who could hear the Word of God, but the Word was preached in the tongue of the people. Men like John Calvin aimed their daily ministry to the common man and the truth of God gave him nobility. Thus the lives of the poorest were enriched with education and the truths of the Word that could bring hope to daily lives.

During the Great Awakening, the preaching of Wesley, in particular, was used of God to bring about child labor laws that protected children from being used as slaves in the emerging industrial revolution. In America, God used the Revival under men like Jonathan Edwards to free sinners from the bondage to sin and prepared a whole nation by sound preaching of doctrines that found their way into the very founding of a nation. Paul Johnson, the great British historian, says that America was born out of a religious awakening. The common man was greatly blessed.

I pray today that our hearts will be awakened to the needs of human beings all around us. I pray that we would be a people who serve the least and in doing so see that we are serving Jesus.

I read recently of a seminary that was conducting a presidential search. They had some outstanding candidates. As the committee gathered and reviewed the candidates they saw a pile of academic accolades, resumes of men who had served impressive and influential congregations, and men who were true leaders in the eyes of men. But one committee member was concerned that this man would be a man who would be leading future pastors. Maybe, she thought, we should check out some other credentials. So they sent out a team to each of the five finalists’ places of employment. They interviewed the janitors. The question on the mind of the committee member was this: “Did the janitor feel this man was a servant of the least of his congregation and his staff?” The next president of this particular seminary was chosen by this final credential: he made the janitor feel like a VIP.

This is a good passage for seminary presidents, and pastors, as well as business owners and CEOs and construction superintendants, as well as teachers and parents.

Remember what God said to the prophet Samuel as he was searching for the king of Israel?

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”  1 Samuel 16:7

How is your heart today towards the least of all? Are the least among us treat as VIPS by you? In Mark, they are by God.

Conclusion
This week was busy. I had an unexpected funeral and some other things that came up that set me behind on preparation. But that is the way of the pastorate. But what I found in dealing with this passage was that it was not sinking in to my heart. If I don't get it deep in my heart, I cannot deliver it with experience and with passion. I finally figured, “I have been trying to pull this cake out of the oven, but it is just not baked yet. So I am going to read.”

I read a book called Something Beautiful for God: The Classic Account of Mother Teresa’s Journey into Compassion by Malcolm Muggeridge. I started the book by thinking that much of Mother Teresa’s work, as noble as it was, was to me sort of a warmed-over Protestant social Gospel, poured into a Roman Catholic mold. I respected Mother Teresa greatly as a person. But I just didn’t get too far past that. But what I read in this account changed the way I think about her and that work. Because the book is about more than about how Mother Teresa used her life to minister to others. It was about how she used her life to minister to Jesus. From a few dying people, to a few diseased people showing up on her steps in Calcutta, to a movement to minister to the poorest of the poor, she says that she was always ministering to Jesus Himself. He is in the eyes of the dying and the poor. The book is also about what her faith did to a very tough, agnostic journalist named Malcolm Muggeridge, who was filming her story for the BBC. He writes:

Accompanying Mother Teresa, as we did, to these different activities for the purpose of filming them—to the Home for the Dying, to the lepers and unwanted children, I found I went through three phases. The first was horror mixed with pity, the second was compassion pure and simple, and the third, reaching far beyond compassion, something I had never experienced before—an awareness that these dying and derelict men and women, these lepers with stumps instead of hands, these unwanted children, were not pitiable, repulsive or forlorn, bur rather dear and delightful; as it might be, friends of long standing, brothers and sisters. How is it to be explained—the very heart and mystery of the Christian faith? To soothe those battered old heads, to grasp those poor stumps, to take in one’s arms those children consigned to dustbins, because it is His head, as they are His stumps and His children, of whom He said that whosoever received one such child in His name received Him.

I finished the book in one sitting. I figured the reason I was not prepared to preach is that I was not ready to see Him in the people that I meet. I had to confess that I am a man of this culture. I too often more are like the disciples than Mother Teresa, who despite theological differences, fulfilled this vision of serving all and the least of all. I wondered if I could really be like that child?

Then I remembered that the disciples did not stay that way. For they saw the cross. They saw the Savior who humbled Himself in obedience to the Cross; who became a High Priest for even those who crucified Him when he looked down and cried, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!” They saw pure Love bleeding on a cross for the sins of the world and they were changed. They exchanged the status symbols of this world for a new status symbol, the status symbol of Christ: an old rugged cross.

This must be our status symbol. This is Christ’s call on us as well.
 

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