Failure of Character
Discipleship Fails • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro “I am not a perfect disciple”
That is part of discipleship
#followerfails is all about discipleship
And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
[SLID2]
Head, Heart, Hands
[SLIDE 3]Head
[SLIDE 4]Heart
[SLIDE 5]Hand
Each of us fail in each of those areas
But through that failure, and through looking at the failures of Jesus’ first disciples, we find there is opportunity to grow as a disciple
Recap of head level failure, to understand and believe
Choosing to Follow Jesus is not just understanding, but believing the gospel
This week, failure at the heart level “Being changed by Christ”
He Wants To Change You
He wants to change your perspective on life
Heart… thoughts and intentions
He wants to change your character
Moral Qualities of a person
Loving, Truthful, Kind, Full of Grace, Forgiving
So you think like God does about life and so you have the character of Christ
No I know I am not the only one who has failed to reflect Jesus in this room and thankfully we can learn from Jesus’ first disciples fails and that what we see in . If you want to turn there we are going to pick up with James and John approaching Jesus with a request in verse 35
Scripture
And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
:35-
[SLIDE 10][35] And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” [36] And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” [37] And they said to him, “Grant us Scripture
Scripture
Failure of Character: Putting Self First
Inner man of these disciples of Jesus failing to be like Jesus
What they Want
Glory
Prestige
Glory
Power
Position (PERKS)
Hope to honor Jesus while honoring themselves.
Blend
Mask
They wanted what they wanted
We all have those moments though don't we?
It has been said that the human heart is a factory for idols.
Clothes, cars, toys, food
Idol is the object of our worship
Our hearts produce objects of worship regularly, things we want more than to worship God himself
Deceives us into thinking we can use God to get what we want instead of realizing what we really want is God.
For these disciples, in this moment
their glory was their Lord, not Jesus
Their glory is what they had their eyes set upon, not Jesus
Their glory is what they wanted, not Jesus
Their failure was a result of the idols in their heart,
[SLIDE 20]Their failure was a result of the idols in their heart,
Every character flaw is rooted in selfishness
Do not worship an idol but for what it can give us
Money, sports etc.
Selfie World (Woody)
James and John taking selfies with Jesus
What if Jesus asked you, “What do you want me to do for you?”
Would your desire bring glory to him or to you?
What they Want
Jesus’s Glory...
His cup and baptism
Cup signifies God’s judgement and wrath that is going to be poured out upon Jesus because of our sin
Baptism is symbolic for his death and burial
They cannot drink his cup
At end it is rebels not James and John
Not able to “drink” then, not until they had been changed by Christ.
Every character flaw is rooted in selfishness
We see Jesus understands this because he offers them a better way, even as the other disciples show the same selfish heart issue.
And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
[41] And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant (got there first) at James and John. [42] And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, [SLIDE 28]and their great ones exercise authority over them. [43] But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, [44] and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
There are two kingdoms at work here
The selfish kingdom of the world,
demonstrated in selfishness
This kingdom is looking out for your own needs, and striving to meet them.
This is the kingdom of self, and it is where you do what is best for you and you are the main priority
The kingdom of God,
demonstrated by service
Great=Servant
First=Slave
This one is about looking for the needs of others and striving to meet those needs. It is being a servant, and as Jesus says, seeing yourself as a slave to those around you.
Sawyer Smith
Kingdom where you do what is best for another.
Service is the Solution For Your Selfishness
Every character flaw is rooted in selfishness
Lust, greed, anger, laziness
Jesus points us to a better way
The heart is an factory for idols, but that factory gets shut down when instead of pursuing selfish desires you give of yourself
Service is the Solution For Your Selfishness
Maturity as a disciple
And I am not speaking about just looking for a careening bus to jump in front of as you push someone out of the way.
Serve in the simple stuff
Be a Slave At home,
taking extra time with your kids or going beyond your “chore” list
Be a Slave At work
Encouraging coworkers, affirm the good in them, lends your support willingly to tasks and projects instead of focusing only on your work
Be a Slave At church
Doing what’s best for someone else here could mean listening, and joining a service team. It could mean intentionally encouraging people and including people into your circle of friends
Be A Slave In public
There are countless people who we walk past and interact with in superficial ways. Most walk through life selfishly and expecting others to be selfish also. You can be that breath of fresh air in the next encounter with who knows who by looking out for what is best for them.
Instead of speaking up with a sarcastic comment on the baseball field, this is approaching people in ways that allow them to not be defensive, and that build relationship and community and allow influence for Jesus (PREACH TO SELF)
Big Idea--Service is the Solution For Your Selfishness
This pushes against our preferences and desires, and Idols of comfort, safety, security
Won't lay down your life if you wont lay down your preferences/selfishness
This is part of the change the gospel call us to
Living in the kingdom of God more and more and the kingdom of self less and less is what it looks like to be a disciple, to be consistently changed by Christ.
You are called to serve, not to be served
Jesus does not end here, but takes the issue of service and applies it to himself
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
[SLIDE 41] [45] For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
While Service is the Solution For Your Selfishness
Your Service is not the salvation from your selfishness
Yes Service is the solution for your selfishness, but more importantly...
Jesus is the savior for your soul
You cannot serve your way out of spiritual death and bondage
This is a call to the kingdom of God
But must enter the kingdom, not through your service, but through Jesus!
Next Steps
Today, I put my faith in Jesus as the only Savior I need.
Today is the day of salvation
I am most selfish at BLANK and commit to a daily act of service there in Jesus’s name
**SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGE**
I am going to memorize to remind myself that Jesus is not only my example, but my Savior.
I am going to read the book of Mark this week.
Benediction
Now, may the God of love allow you to see your failures in light of his faithfulness and may he show you his grace, so you may grow as a disciple of Jesus, choosing to follow him daily, being changed by the power of his indwelling Spirit and increasing in your commitment to his mission. And may his peace and joy fill you as you give all glory to him.