HOW TO ACHIEVE GREATNESS

A Cross, A Crown and A Child. / Mark 9:30-41

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Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts, be always acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. Amen.

Introduction:

Heather and I have seen a new movie called the “Jesus Revolution”. The movie begins in 1968, when the United States was experiencing a constant growth in groups of young people questioning the government, traditional moralities, and value systems and wanting to live a free life. Better known as hippies, these young people were considered a threat to the American way of life by the older generations and the government itself. Being labeled communists and anti-nationals, the hippies were despised by conservative families and households. This film was Adapted from Greg Laurie’s book of the same name, the film follows the evangelical Jesus Movement that took place in California in the latter half of the 1960s. At one point of the film we meet pastor Chuck Smith who is also very much against the hippie movement. He states that when God brings him a hippie he will listen.

Well, You can guess what happens next. Yup, God brings him a Hippie to his doorstep and they begin a relationship within his church. Pastor Chuck realizes that these young people who have been discounted and misunderstood need a home in the church. Slowly his spiritual blindness and deafness begin to lift and God gives him wisdom to understand and opens a door at his church.

Have you ever seen smart people who are not wise? Now, there is a difference between being educated, having knowledge, and being wise. I think we have probably seen on the news well-educated fools. Conversely, many godly people have little or no academic training, but they are brimming with wisdom. The difference between these two types has almost nothing to do with academic coursework or degrees; the difference is their relationship with God. He is full of wisdom, and His plan is marked by wisdom.

Up to this point in the Gospel of St. Mark, Jesus’ lessons for the disciples had been largely practical in nature. For example, how to minister, how to utilize His delegated authority, how to carry out their roles as instruments of Christ’s agenda. The time has now come to prepare them for leadership. It was time to begin Leadership 101 and get down to some serious training.

Let us begin our journey in the Gospel of St Mark starting in Chapter 9 verses 30-32.

Mark 9:30–32 ESV

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

The disciples and Jesus are headed south through Galilee toward Jesus’ destiny - Jerusalem. Here in this passage, Jesus wants to avoid public exposure in order to spend his time privately with His disciples. As the men moved from town to town, Jesus stimulated the disciples curiosity with repeated predictions of His own arrest, execution, and resurrection. Jesus’ discussion alludes to this as a central theme with His disciples.

LESSON: What was Jesus’ goal here? It was to prepare them for what lies ahead. However, as has been the case throughout our LORD’s ministry, the disciples do not understand.

But let us be fair and walk in the shoes of the disciples to understand their confusion. Their worldview of the situation was one of confusion.

“A dying Messiah? I have no room for that in my worldview.

“A crucified Christ? Nope, not in my theology? This does not fit into what I know of how God does things.”

The disciples did not understand and they were afraid to ask Him. Were they hearing the LORD’s rebuke in response to Peter - “Get behind me Satan ?”

Was that still ringing in their ears? Or was it that they were living in denial, they simply did not want to hear it? The thought of losing Jesus by execution was unthinkable. Here, the disciples are trying to process all this information that is in direct contrast to every concept of the Messiah by which they have been taught.

Let us continue our walk through the next passage.

Mark 9:33–34 ESV

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.

Jesus and the disciples returned home to Capernaum, where Jesus pressed them to know what they were discussing. Jesus already knew the answer but wanted to hear what they had to say. In this passage, the disciples did not want to admit that they had debated the merits of each man to hold public offices that gave them status, honor and power once Jesus had vanquished the Roman and placed Israel back on its feet. For example, using today’s references on those offices...Who would be Prime Minister? Who would be Secretary of State?

LESSON: In spite of what Jesus has taught then about self-denial, dying to self and losing their lives for Christ and the gospel, they still aspire to be men of high importance and not servants. The disciples remain deaf to what Jesus has said and taught about serving others.

Here matters of rank and titles were important to the Jews in those days. It is noteworthy that the nature of man and the times have not changed all that much. Pride and high reflection of one’s self arise even among Jesus’ disciples. Maybe they should have remembered their teachings in the Book of Proverbs which says: Proverbs 11:2 “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.”

Mark 9:35–37 (ESV)

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.”

Jesus sits down like a rabbi and gives instruction. His posture sets the tone for His lesson and put the disciples at ease. He begins Leadership 101, and teaches what we call “servanthood leadership.” Success in God’s eyes demand humility. Jesus does not place a shadow on greatness, He redefines it. Jesus is saying you will only find real and lasting happiness when you serve someone, not because you have to, but, because you get to, and want to.

[ILLUSTRATION] When I was in the military service a life time ago, I was taught early in my career as a leader to always take care of your troops before self. For example, when taking a break for a meal your troops should always eat before the leadership. Maybe that’s one reason we have skinny leaders. However, this was an important leadership lesson that still meets the test of time. This small gesture was part of servanthood. that was initially hard to understand but after time was part of the military culture.

“Whoever receives one child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but Him who sent me.” Jesus uses a child to illustrate another important lesson of being a servant. A child is someone who is small, too weak, and too helpless to be considered great by the standards of that time. We must remember that in those days, children were not prized or cherished as a gift from God. Before the influence of Christianity, pagan cultures valued people based on their usefulness to the family. Children were not seen as being of value.

However, Jesus declared that giving kindness to a child, the lowest ranking member of the social order, was the equivalent of giving kindness to the top-ranking member of society in the new kingdom. Then Jesus embraces the child indicating that He considers this child to be important and a member of His family.

LESSON: In the present world order, everyone serves the boss or high status individuals, who receives the best of everything. In the kingdom of God, the least powerful receive the kindness of the most powerful.

Here the message is that the disciples should be willing to take on lowly, often unnoticed tasks and jobs. They should care for those who have little status in the world such as a little child.

We continue with the next passage.

Mark 9:38–41 ESV

John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For the one who is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.

Here John speaks out and wants to determine who’s in and who’s out. The child may be in, but this man, this stranger must be out because he was not one of them. If John wanted affirmation and approval from Jesus he was sadly disappointed and mistaken. Jesus responds with a “Do not stop him.” On the contrary, stop what YOU are doing! Why?

LESSON: Jesus stated two things. “Anyone doing exorcism in My name does so by the power of God. And, For whoever is for us is not against us.” In other words, If someone is shooting at the enemy, by all means let him! Jesus took John’s complaint as an opportunity to explain how allegiance works in the kingdom of God.

A quick note about Exorcism: Exorcism in this time frame had certain rules and procedures to follow. If exorcists wanted to cast a demon out of someone, they would cast it out in the name of someone stronger. Jesus was making the point that because the man was using His name , he might be a friend and should be treated as such.

Let us break down verse 41 to understand it a bit more clearly:

“Whoever” is all inclusive. [No distinction of Jew or Gentile, etc.]

“Gives you a cup of water to drink because of My name. [He serves me and shows his allegiance to Me by serving My servants.]

“He will never lose his reward” [Jesus sees and rewards the smallest and humblest acts of service done to others in My name.]

Please note that in the dry climate of the Middle East, a cup of water was a great act of hospitality and kindness. Jesus pointed to service again as He told His disciples that humble acts of service when done because of Christ will be rewarded.

APPLICATION: How to Achieve Greatness.

So what do we take away from this passage? How do we apply this passage of scripture to us today?

At no point does the way of Jesus differ more sharply from the way of the world than on the subject of personal greatness. Jesus has a clear message for all who serve ministry: It isn’t about you!

This passage contains several important insights we can apply today to all of us. “Seek to be servants, and leave the greatness, or glory up to God.

How do we do that?

We must have a mindset like Jesus and imitate his character.

Jesus sets the standard.

Jesus who in his true essence was by His incarnation the very nature of a servant. He never sought glory for Himself but instead made Himself nothing and left the glory up to God. That must be the pursuit and goal of everyone.

The result of Jesus’ refusal to demand recognition and His decision to die on the cross is that God exalted Him to the highest place.

We too will receive the crown of glory when Christ returns, but we dare not seek it now.

The disciples in this narrative continue their failure to understand fully and are not interested in Jesus’ suffering but only in their potential future greatness. They, like us need to understand and recognize that the only path to greatness in the kingdom of God demands servanthood.

The disciples like pastor Chuck Smith in the Jesus Revolution were at first prejudice against outsiders and this mind set seriously if not corrected hinders their future value to the kingdom of God. They must be open to all who are called and used by God and not accept only those who are like themselves.

Service to others frees us. It get our eyes off of us and onto others who need the same Christ we need. Allegiance to Christ will lead us to applaud and celebrate those on God’s team, even if they are different from us!

When you are in solitude with God, surrender your agenda to Him and ask how He would want you to serve. It has been said that “the heart of every problem is the problem in the heart.”

The church is the body of Christ on earth, taking the place of the Savior who has returned to heaven. He did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28); and that must be our attitude; sacrifice and service to the glory of God.

Amen.