Becoming Spiritually FAT: Committed to Contribute to God's Kingdom!

Welcome

Good Morning! I’m Pastor Wayne and I’d like to welcome you all to the gathering of Ephesus Baptist Church.

It’s nice to see so your smiling faces. If you are visiting with us this morning, please know that you are surrounded by some pretty amazing people. Ephesus is an active faith community on a mission with Jesus.

We don’t all share the same story; in fact, we come from many different paths. But here, we are one people giving our all to love God, love others, proclaim Jesus, and make disciples in our generation.

We have a connect card in the pew in front of you. I invite you to take one and fill it out! Please be sure to include your name, email, and address. If you have prayer needs, you can let us know about those as well.

I promise, our prayer team will lift you up soon. You can place those cards in the offering plate when it comes around.

Scripture Memory

1 Peter 3:8–9 ESV

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

Opening Scripture Reading

Romans 12:1–21 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Series Review

Good Morning,

The last few weeks we have been looking at a few key commitments of the Christian life. You could call these commitments spiritual elements or building blocks that have the potential to take our spiritual lives to a higher level of maturity.

The commitments we looked at so far include.

1. Being Armed and Dangerous: Committed to Conceal God’s Word in Our Hearts!

From Psalm 119, we discussed how we are to treasure and value God’s Word. How we are to seek to memorize and meditate upon it daily. How we are to be devoted to God’s Word.

2. Sitting at the Lord’s Feet: Committed to Celebrate God’s Son!

From Luke 10, we learned that genuine worship at the feet of Jesus will far outweigh a lifetime of religious “busy work.” We discovered that we should seek to celebrate Jesus everyday in every way!

3. Finding Strength Together: Committed to Connect to God’s People!

Last week, God showed us from Hebrews 10, that we should find strength in each other. We learned that, as God’s Church, we are family and that we belong together. God called us to be a people committed to connect to His family!

4. Guardians of the Gospel: Committed to Communicate God’s Gospel!

God showed us from 2 Cor. 5:17-20, that In Christ, He was reconciling a sinful people back to Himself. We realized that we have been recreated and repurposed by the Gospel to be the Guardians of the Gospel.

As Ambassadors for Christ, we have been given the message and ministry of reconciliation. God now works through us to reconcile the world to Himself.

Introduction

Surely there are many other commitments we could make, but the ones we will have looked at after today are commitments that have the potential to take our Christian walks to another level of maturity.

What is Christian maturity?

First, let me tell you one thing that it is not. It is not merely something we do with our minds. Although that is an important part of our growth.

No, real spiritual maturity is about how you take the knowledge you gain and allow it to transform how you live your life.

This morning, we are going to address the last commitment to spiritual growth in this series of sermons.

We are going to talk about “Becoming Spiritually FAT” as we seek to fill up on the example of Christ.

The commitment I want you to see today is our need to be enabled to seek to contribute to God’s Kingdom.

After filling up on God’s Word today, I hope you leave here FAT! Overflowing FAT!

We will be in the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 10. We will begin reading in verse 32. Please Stand In Honor Of God’s Perfect Word!

Mark 10:32–45 ESV

32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.” 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 to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 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?” 39 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, 40 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.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant 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, 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. 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.”

The first thing I want you to notice this morning is the context of this conversation.

Jesus has just finished teaching three hard lessons on the topics of Divorce, Materialism, and the High Cost of Discipleship. He closed His teaching with Mark 10:31.

Mark 10:31 ESV

31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Now we find Jesus on His way to Jerusalem with His disciples and other followers walking behind Him in amazement and fear.

Somewhere along the way, He pulls the twelve aside and again tells them why He came.

5 Reasons Why Jesus Came.

I want to show you the connection between why Jesus came and why we are commissioned to Go!

I also want to show you the gravity of what this means and how it should affect our lives.

So as quickly as I can this morning, let me give you 5 reasons why He came,

1. Jesus came to suffer.

Mark 10:32–34 ESV

32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

This is the third time that Jesus has specifically predicted His death in Mark’s Gospel.

Jesus says here that He is going to be:

Condemned

Mocked

Spit upon

Flogged

and Killed.

Jesus came to Suffer. In Mark 8:31, Jesus’ first prediction of His death, Mark tells us that Jesus “began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things.”

There is no uncertainty in Jesus’ words. This is something that is going to happen. It must happen. It will happen!

James and John asked Jesus, “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?”

Do you know what they wanted? Ephesus, don’t miss this! Their request really reveals how selfish our human hearts can be.

Mark 10:37 ESV

37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”

Jewish culture saw the right hand of the king as the place of greatest prominence; and the left hand as the second greatest.

For some reason James and John thought that Jesus was going to establish His messianic kingdom when He reached Jerusalem and they wanted to secure the best seats in the house.

Mark 10:38–39 ESV

38 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?” 39 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,

What was Jesus doing here? He was asking James and John if they were willing to suffer and die as He was going to do. But they missed it!

Not knowing His meaning when James and John were asked are you willing to suffer and die? They said absolutely. Again they had no clue what Jesus was saying.

According to Acts 12:2 James was indeed martyred at the hands of Herod Agrippa I.

John lived to a very old age and died a natural death in Ephesus. His death, however, came after great suffering, exile in Patmos and torture during the time of the emperor Domitian.

Jesus Came to Suffer. The imagery of baptism is literally being immersed in suffering and death.

So when Jesus talked about baptism, He was very clearly saying that He came to suffer. He came to die. He was born for this purpose. He came to give His life. But He came for so much more. He also came to save.

2. Jesus came to save.

Mark 10:45 ESV

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.”

Jesus came to give his life as a what? As a ransom.

The word “ransom” was often used in to refer to purchasing the freedom of a slave or a prisoner of war.

When someone is held captive and needs to be freed, their only way out it for a sufficient payment to be offered.

The picture that Christ gives of His own death is, “I am paying the price for your release.”

You are in slavery to sin, and slavery to yourself. You are condemned to death. Jesus in essence is saying, “I have come to free you from slavery to sin and self. I paid the price for you to be free, to be ransomed.

He came to give His life as a ransom. He came to save us! What a Hero! What a Savior!

But He came for so much more.

3. Jesus came to be our substitute.

He came to give His life as a ransom for—

Circle that little preposition “for” in your Bibles. This is not just any “for!” This word doesn’t just mean on behalf of or for the sake of.

Here, “for” literally means “instead of” or “in the place of.” Jesus came to be our substitute. He came to suffer and die in our place that we might be saved.

That is the beginning of the Gospel.

He also became the firstborn of the resurrection. He as the substitute died in our place, but He also resurrected to new life in our place. Are you thankful for that this morning? But that is still not the only reasons why He came. There is more.

4. Jesus came to show us how to live.

In being our substitute, in giving His life as a ransom for those who would believe, Jesus shows us what it means to be a servant to all.

James and John have asked Jesus to be at His right hand and His left hand. Jesus in no uncertain terms told them those seats are not mine to grant. I am in submission to the Father’s will on this matter, and those seats are reserved for someone of His choosing.

Mark 10:41 ESV

41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.

The reaction of the other ten disciples is no more commendable than the selfishness of James and John.

They were probably angry because they wanted those positions for themselves!

Perhaps they were upset that they didn't ask the question first!

Jesus uses this entire incident to teach us on the necessity of humility and service among His disciples.

Mark 10:42–44 ESV

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, 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.

Jesus is calling us to commit to a radically different way to live, especially in the way we love others.

He’s calling us to a sacrificial, selfless, servant-minded, slave-like love for all the people around us. For people in our homes, people in our neighborhoods, people in Spring Hope, and among the people of the nations.

Jesus came to redefine how we live life.

It does not matter if that life is lived in a 3rd world country that is hostile to the Gospel or in our modern American context of prosperity. He came to show us how to live! But still there is another reason in our passage of why He came.

He came to serve us.

5. Jesus came to serve us.

Mark 10:45 ESV

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.”

He came not to be served, but to serve! To Serve! Jesus came to serve us!

The word “serve” is the from the word which we get a word like “deacon” today. It literally means to wait on tables; to wait on, to offer service to.

This is Jesus saying He wants to serve you! He is not saying that He want you to serve Him.

This is not the way we often thing about our faith. We like to think of ourselves as the servants of God, the servants of Christ.

What does this mean for us?

1. Jesus is our servant.

This is a fundamental part of understanding what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Jesus has called us to a life of servant hood. He has called us to live our life in ways that are vastly different than the world around us. He has called us to be prepared to suffer oppressions, hardships, difficulties, and persecutions.

What Jesus says here is that our obedience to these things is not a matter of us serving Him. It is a matter of Him serving us!

What Jesus is saying is that we need Him!

2. We Need Jesus!

We need to trust Jesus to serve us! To walk a walk worthy of His calling is completely impossible without Him giving us what we need.

We can not live this life apart from Him! We need Jesus! There is no way on earth that we can live contrary to the ways of this world in our own strength.

Acts 17:25 ESV

25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

What do you or I have in our lives that we can give to God that He has not given to us?

He does not need us! We need Him. That’s the whole point of the gospel. We need Him.

He does not need us to help Him. We need Him to help us.

The whole point of the gospel is to stop trying to serve yourself. Stop trying to serve God, as if you are earning your salvation. Drop to your knees. Cry out to Him and admit you need to be served by Him.

You cannot save yourself. You cannot get rid of your sin. You cannot be reconciled to God and experience the life that you have been created for. Unless He serves you.

Listen to the words of David Platt,

Think about it. What in Christianity does not involve Him serving you? When you pray, Jesus is serving you. He’s leading and guiding your thoughts and your mind, your heart, to be fixed on the glory of God, and guiding you by His Spirit. When we worship, when we sing songs of praise, Jesus is serving us. In His own worship, Jesus is serving us. He is gripping our hearts and our minds with His greatness that causes us to shout out and to raise our hands. Jesus is serving us in this. Even at this very moment, as you are listening to His Word, Jesus is serving you—think of it. Opening your ears, your mind, your heart to understand this. Jesus is serving you right now. And He doesn’t stop. The whole Christian life is Him serving you. Isn’t that beautiful?

WE NEED JESUS!

3. Imitate Jesus and Serve!

Jesus came to serve! So let us imitate Christ and serve in return. This would be impossible in our own strength.

It is Jesus’ service to us that enables our obedience and service to Him!

Everything Jesus calls us to is His way of saying, “Here’s how I want to serve you.” And His service to us enables our service to Him.

The problem with the disciples is the same problem people have today. Most people are not concerned with the glory of God. All they care about is finishing first. All they care about is their own power, position and prestige.

We need people in the church who could care less if they are ever recognized as long as God’s work is accomplished.

We need people who can see beyond themselves to the needs of others.

We need people who willingly become slaves so that others are served.

We need people who will graciously step aside when the time is right so that others can serve. That is what we need!

That is called Humility.

C.J. Mahaney rightly said,

“Ultimately our Christian service exists only to draw attention to this source to our crucified and risen Lord, who gave Himself as a ransom for all.”

So when you serve others realize that you are pointing to the one who gave His life as a ransom for us.

Church, our service to others, to our community, to those outside of these walls demonstrates the Sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

So the commitment for today is to understand that by allowing Christ to serve us we are enabled to contribute to God’s Kingdom as joint heirs with Christ.

How do we contribute in God’s Kingdom?

We Need to Become Spiritually FAT!

We need to move from being consumers to contributors. Rather than fattening our bodies, let us fatten our souls and the souls of others upon the blessings of God.

God made us to be givers, not takers.

Everything God has given us was meant to be used in the service of others.

1. We need to be Faithful.

1 Corinthians 4:2 ESV

2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

God has called us to be faithful in how we live our lives.

Three areas where God expects our faithfulness:

a. God expects us to be faithful with our time.

Are you faithful with the way you spend your time? Do you live with a sense of urgency in the way you follow Christ? Do you follow through on things?

b. God expects us to be faithful with our talents.

Are you faithful with the abilities, gifts, and talents that God has given you? Are you using those talents in the service of your King? Are you blessing others with what God has given you?

c. God expects us to be faithful with our treasures.

Your stuff! Your money, your cars, your house, your stuff! Are you being a faithful steward over the treasures God has given you? Do you give cheerfully or grudgingly to the church? Do you give in good times as well as in bad?

One of the things that really breaks my heart today, is watching church members hold back their giving to God’s church when they are unhappy with the Pastor.

Sadly in most cases, the pastor still gets paid until he leaves, but the church budget has taken a hit.

But you know the worst part, God’s people have hurt themselves because they didn’t rob from the pastor, they stole from the storehouse of God’s blessings. They robbed themselves of the blessing of God’s favor!

2. We need to be Available.

Proverbs 3:28 ESV

28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.

Jesus was and is always available to those who need Him. We should be available as well.

Four Common Hurdles We Face.

a. Self-Centeredness.

Guess what it is not about you! Just get started serving!

b. Preoccupied.

Guess what, things that seem important often aren’t that important. We have to learn to prioritize our lives around the Kingdom of God rather than the ways of the world. Just get started serving!

c. Perfectionism.

Guess what, if you are waiting until you have cleaned yourself up, or gained enough knowledge before you serve, then you are putting yourself before others.

Learn to be available no matter how perfect you or the situation may be. Just get started serving!

d. Materialism.

Guess what, your stuff can be used in the service of the King, but only if we don’t allow it to hinder us by putting ourselves and our stuff ahead of our mission. Just get started serving!

3. We need to be Teachable.

Mark 9:35 ESV

35 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.”

True leaders are followers!

All followers are learners!

Be humble and pliable! Be teachable!

Don’t pretend that you have all the answers or that you have everything figured out! No one does, save our Triune God!

Philippians 2:3–5 ESV

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

Are you Spiritually FAT?

Are you Faithful, Available, and Teachable?

Is that the journey you are walking? Are you actively seeking ways to serve others?

We have places of ministry in this church where you can serve, are you serving in them?

There are people all around us who need to know about Jesus, are you telling them?

There are needs on every corner, are you seeking to meet them? Are you being a servant of God by selflessly serving others?

If the Lord has touched your heart about your service, today would be a good day to enlist.

If you are like the ten and you have hard feelings at others for what they have said or done, today would be a great day to make that right. I would make it right with them and then come make it right with God.

If you have never trusted Jesus as your Savior, today would be a good day to bow before Him and receive Him as your Lord. He will serve you, change you and use you for His glory.

Do what He would have you to do today?