A Christ Focused Life

Mark 9:38-50

          What is the focus of your life? What are the things that are important to you?

     Yesterday, I had tickets to the Michigan football game in Ann Arbor but decided not to go because it was a night game and I wanted to be prepared for today. But there were one hundred thousand people in that stadium who would tell you I was crazy for missing that game. The focus in life is on the Michigan football.

     There are people who exercise every day and go to the gym 7 days a week. There are people who run, and it doesn’t matter if there is rain, sleet, or snow they will run and not miss a day because the focus of their life is on exercise. There are those who have home remodeling projects going on all the time. Before they finish one project, they are starting another one. Because the  focus of their life is on their home and trying to make it perfect, the way they want it.

     My point is, the focus of our life shapes our world. What you focus your life on claims you. It claims your energy, it claims your interests, it claims your desires. It absorbs your time your talents and your resources. It consumes your thoughts, your words, and your actions.

     Let me ask you this: If you could watch a video of your life, what would you discover the focus of your life to be?

Christ calls His disciples to focus their life on living for Him. He calls us to overcome the sin in our life. To set aside the temporary things of the world, that are here today and gone tomorrow, and live for the eternal things of glory. To seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and not worry about the things that we don’t have. He calls us to seek peace and to have passion for the things of God.

     What we learn from this passage this morning is how important it is to make living for God our priority. Christ calls His disciples to focus their life on living for Him. (Read 9:38-50)

  38      John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.”

  39      But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me.

  40      “For he who is not against us is for us.

  41      “For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

  42      “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.

  43      “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,

  44      [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.]

  45      “If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell,

  46      [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.]

  47      “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell,

  48      where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

  49      “For everyone will be salted with fire.

  50      “Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.” (pray)

     In our passage this morning the subject has come up again of casting out demons. And we cannot help but ask what does any of this have to do with me and my life? After all we don’t cast out demons in the church today. We do not see demon possession taking place in our culture the way we read about it in the bible. Although it sometimes happens this way in third world countries. Today, Satan is at work in more subtle ways in the hearts of men. Creating idolatry and infidelity, trying to lead us to destroy ourselves and those around us.

     But make no mistake evil is as prevalent in our world as it has ever been. You can watch the news and you will hear of men who are willing to slaughter their families for adulterous relationships and women who would drown their children because of inconvenience. We see evil on a wide scale as nation will rise up against nation to oppress people and destroy innocent lives. (Taliban) And America is not insulated from any of it. There is a growing anger and hatred and intolerance for one another.

     In many ways God’s people are still called to cast out demons in the name of Jesus. Jesus said, “if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me,” and it is by lifting Christ that the hearts of men can be changed, and the enemy of God can be defeated. We see it in the life of a person that comes to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The first thing that happens is their words begin to change and their heart begins to become different, and they want to live a different life. They want to be free from the evil around them.

     As a disciple of Christ, you have been enlisted into a spiritual battle of good verses evil of light verses darkness. But it is a battle that begins at home. For we must first cast the demons from our own life before we can begin to battle the demons of the world. And everything we do and the moral choice we make have an impact on our ability to live for God. Especially regarding overcoming sin. And that is what I want to talk to you about today. Christ calls His disciples to overcome their sin and live for Him.

     The first thing I want you to see in this passage is the Jealousy of the disciples. Vs 38-41. The disciples become jealous of a man casting out demons.

Vs. 38 begins with the phrase “John said to Him.” This is the first time that we hear from John or at least the first time John’s words are recorded. Usually, it is Peter who speaks up but here John doesn’t even give Peter a chance. He becomes the spokesmen for all the disciples, and he says, “Teacher we saw someone casting out demons in your name.” In your name represents the power and authority of Christ. This person was casting out demons by the power and authority of Christ.

      John continues and says, “we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” You have to remember these disciples had just failed to cast a demon out of a boy with epilepsy. And Jesus told them they were powerless because they were prayerless and that sets the stage for their jealousy. This is still fresh on their minds.

      Now, they find out they have some competition. They are not the only ones serving Christ in the world. And when they see someone doing something they could not do they want to stop him. They are jealous of the power of God at work in someone else.

     I cannot help but think about how we do the same thing today. We become jealous of the way God uses other people. We become jealous of the way other people pray and we become jealous of the way other people teach and we become jealous of the way other people serve, and we need to realize we are in this together we are serving God together. We are brothers and sisters in Christ and we should be thankful for each other.

     In Vs. 39 Jesus rebukes John He says, “Do not hinder Him.” This leaves me with the impression Jesus was fully aware of this person and what he was doing. And He forbids the disciples of forbidding him. In other words, stop this spirit you are projecting. Stop this attitude of Jealousy.

     Then I want you to notice the use of the word “for” three times in these verses. For indicates reason. So, the reason Jesus does not want this person hindered is summed up in the form of a proverb of verse 40, “For he who is not against us, is for us.” In Matthews version of the story 12:30, he puts in in the negative to help us better understand it. He says, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”

     There is no contradiction here. He is saying the same thing in a different way. This the heads and tails of the same coin. And what we learn is there is no middle ground with Christ. There is no fence straddling. There is no having your cake and eating it too. You are either for Him or you are against Him.

     This the sharp contrast He is making here. That is the principle and just because this man was not following Jesus the way the other twelve were, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t following Him correctly. And verse 41 tells us not only were they not to oppose him but he was going to be rewarded for his service.

     As disciples we are not to become jealous of the power of God that is at work in others. We are to encourage them. They are brothers and sisters in the faith. And we are to encourage them to use the gifts that God has given them. But, it is also important that we don’t make the leap here and say everyone who comes in the name of Jesus is therefore, “for us.” That is not what this passage is saying and there are an awful lot of people misusing the name of Christ. But I also do not believe it is our place to call out everyone who misrepresents Him either. False teachers will answer to God. Our Job is to preach and practice the truth in our life.

     Christ calls His disciples to overcome their sin and live for Him. The next thing I want you to see in this passage is the warning to the disciples. Vs. 42-48 Here Jesus gives the disciples a stark warning about their witness to others and the seriousness of their sin.

      I want you to realize Jesus is speaking to believers here, He is not speaking to the crowds. He is not speaking to the lost. This is a message of repentance to the believer. And even though He uses hyperbolic language here, this is a message that is neglected by the modern church. Repentance is the radical turning away from sin and turning toward God. It is to have a change of mind, that causes a change of the will that results in a change of life. We must repent.

      Vs. 42 begins with the phrase, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believes to stumble.”  A little one who believes is referring to a new believer, a new disciple in Christ. And to stumble is to stumble into sin and to cause damage in their life. The word “stumble” here is where we get our word scandalous from. It is to entice or provoke someone in a negative way.

     He is talking about our witness to new believers. The life we live before them. He says we need to guard it. It could be ungodly language used in their presence. It could be that we expose them to sin in our life and influence them to sin. Whatever it is He is says we are responsible for the influence we have on others. The Apostle Paul would say the same thing in 1 Corinthians 15:33. “Do not be deceived: bad company corrupts good morals.”

Illus. – A very young driver was lost in a snowstorm. He didn’t panic however, because he remembered that his dad once told him: “If you ever get stuck in a snowstorm, just wait for a snowplow to come by and follow it.” Sure enough, pretty soon a snowplow came by, and he started to follow it. He followed the plow for about forty-five minutes. Finally the driver of the truck got out and asked him what he was doing. He explained that his dad had told him that if he ever got stuck in a snowstorm, to follow a snowplow. The driver nodded and said, “Well, I’m done with the Wal-Mart parking lot. Do you want to follow me over to Best Buy now?”

That’s a funny story, but it illustrates a very serious truth Jesus teaches in today’s text. That is the fact that people are watching us, and some are following us, and we had better make sure we don’t lead them astray because Jesus warns us of the awful consequences if you do.

     He says in Vs. 42, for that person, “It would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck and be cast into the sea.” In other words, it would be better for you if you had never been born if you lead someone astray. Then I want you to notice in Vs. 43-48 He turns from warning them about causing others to sin to focusing on the sin in their own life.

     I am not going to read these verses again but, It is important that we understand that this is hyperbolic language Jesus uses here. He is speaking metaphorically. He is not telling you to literally cut these things off of your body. There were those in the early church that we literally cut off their hands and feet and separate themselves into caves to prevent from sinning in the world.

     The hand the foot and the eye are figures of speech he uses to describe our actions and our thought life. What He is saying is we need to deal with them radically. We need to take them serious like a surgeon who is cutting a cancerous growth out of a body to save a life, we need to remove the sin, from our lives.

     When Jesus speaks of entering life in these passages He is speaking of eternal life. He is speaking of abundant life, He is speaking of heaven. And He says, It would be better for you to go to heaven with one hand, one foot and one eye than to go to hell. It is that simple.

     God did not create you to sin, and there are no pet sins in our life that are overlooked. Sin spreads like gangrene and we need to get rid of it. All sin is rebellion against God and leads to infinite punishment. Let me ask you this, how many times did Adam have to sin before it affected the whole human race? How many times do you think you have to sin before it affects your soul? The good news is one act of grace was powerful enough to save the world and we can turn to Christ and seek forgiveness.

Illus. – On Saturday April 26, 2003, Aron Ralston went climbing in Blue John Canyon of southeastern Utah. It was supposed to be a one-day hike, but something terrible happened: he pushed his arm into a crack in the canyon wall, and an 800-pound boulder shifted, pinning his arm. He tried using a pocketknife to chip away at the boulder without success. He tried to rig a makeshift pulley with ropes to lift the boulder and that failed as well.

After three days, having gone through all of his water and food, he decided to sacrifice his arm to save his life. First, he bent his body in order to break his wrist, he then proceeded to use his knife to amputate his arm just below the right elbow. The 27-year-old climber then applied a makeshift tourniquet and rappelled 60 feet to the canyon floor. According to a sergeant in the Sheriff’s Department, Ralston would have died if he had stayed in that canyon.

Aron Ralston had a will to live, and he did whatever was necessary to stay alive. That’s what Jesus is talking about in our text, in a metaphorical way. He wants you to do WHATEVER is necessary…to discard ANY hindrance…to forsake ANYTHING or ANYONE that is keeping you from living for God.

          Christ calls His disciples to overcome their sin and live for Him. The next thing I want you to see in this passage is the Perseverance of the disciples. Vs. 49-50. Jesus calls His disciples to persevere through the trials and temptations in life.

     “Everyone” in Vs 49 is referring to everyone. All people believers and unbelievers alike. In one way or another we are all salted with fire. No one gets out un-scarved. We all go through things in this world that are challenging and difficult. And I would rather go through the fire with Christ in my corner than to go through it without Him.

     In Vs. 50 Jesus continues, “Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again?” So, salt is a positive thing, it is a preservative; it seasons and flavors. But you have to understand that the main source of salt for the Israelite came from the Dead Sea, but it was a coarse salt that had impurities in it, causing it to become contaminated and ultimately leaving it without any flavor. Salt with no flavor is worthless. So the question is: Do you have any impurities in you? What is contaminating your commitment to Christ? Have you been compromising as a Christian and have lost your flavor? The world cannot survive without the salt of spirit-filled Christians. You are the salt of the earth.

     Finally, at the end of Vs. 50 He says, “Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.” The salt that we have within ourselves is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers us to overcome, to endure and to persevere. It is the power of the gift of God that grows us and convicts us when we sin and works in our conscience to produce holiness in life. We are to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us and the evidence we are doing that is we will be at peace with one another.

The easy roads are crowded,

And the level roads are jammed;

The pleasant little rivers

With the drifting folks are crammed,

But off yonder where its rocky

Where you get a better view,

You will find the ranks are thinning

And the travelers are few.

Where the going’s smooth and pleasant

You will always find the throng,

For the many, more’s the pity,

Seem to like to drift along;

But the steps that call for courage,

And that task that’s hard to do.

In the end results in glory

For the never-wavering few.

         So, what is the focus of your life?  Christ calls His disciples to focus on living for Him. To overcome the sin in our life and make His purpose for our life our purpose. To set aside the temporary things of the world and live for the eternal things of glory. He calls us to seek peace and to have passion for the things of God. I want to encourage you today to stay the course, and not give up the fight of living for God.