Selfishness in the Kingdom?

1001 Illustrations that Connect Illustration 946: Hoarding is No Fun

A little boy sat on the floor of the church nursery with a red rubber ball in each arm and three Nerf balls clenched on the floor between his pudgy little knees. He was trying to protect all five from the other children in the nursery. The problem was, he could not hold all five at once, and the ball nearest to his feet was particularly vulnerable to being stolen. So whenever another child showed an interest in playing with one of the balls, the little boy snarled to make it clear these toys were not for sharing.

I suppose I should have stepped in and made the little guy give up one or two of the balls, but I was too wrapped up in the drama. For about five minutes, this little guy growled, postured, and kept the other children away from the balls. Like a hyena hunched over the last scraps of a carcass, this snarling little canine was not in the mood for sharing. The other kids circled like vultures around the kill, looking for a way to jump in and snatch a ball without being attacked and bitten. I honestly did not know whether to laugh or cry as I watched.

Then it struck me: this little boy was not having any fun. There was no cheer within ten yards of this kid. Not only was he unhappy, but all the other kids seemed sad as well. His selfishness created a black hole that sucked all of the joy out of that nursery.… When church was over and his parents came to pick him up, he left the balls behind. I guess the old saying is true: you can’t take it with you.

—Kevin G. Harney, Seismic Shifts (Zondervan, 2005)

• A selfish heart is a heart that only cares about the ME, MYSELF, and I trinity.

• Once this vice grabs a hold of one’s heart, it can drag a person down a dangerous path of destruction.

• When one has a selfish heart, one will do whatever they need to do to get what their heart wants.

• A selfish heart has ruined many marriages, families, and lives.

• Our prison is loaded with folks who did things from a selfish heart that landed them in prison.

• When we are ruled by selfishness, our minds will allow us to justify anything and everything so long as we get what we want, so long as those selfish desires are fulfilled.

• We are fooling ourselves to accept some of the craziest stuff when we are ruled by a selfish heart.

• When one allows a selfish heart to control their life, one of the things that will happen is we will tend to drift from God. If we are not careful, we could drift so far away that we could cause ourselves so serious trouble.

• Let’s take a look at Mark 9:33-37 today. The situation the text covers will offer us some insights as to what selfishness can do to a person and their relationship with Jesus.

• We will start with verses 33-34

Mark 9:33–34 NIV

They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

SERMON

I. Selfishness puts a wall between you and God.

• This event happened after Jesus was transfigured (Mark 9:1) in the presence of Peter, James, and John. I am sure those three told the others what they saw.

• I am also pretty sure the others were somewhat jealous they were not present when that glorious event took place.

• Jesus cracks me up sometimes.

• So, apparently, they had been walking with Jesus at the head of a single file, as was typical for itinerant teachers and disciples. Jesus had not been part of their conversation, although He knew what they had been saying, so Jesus asks them what they were arguing about.

• I think these guys were arguing a little under their breathes because they did not want Jesus to hear what they were arguing about.

• So, Jesus asks them, what are you all arguing about?

• Here’s how the disciples answered, SILENCE!

• Why were these men silent?

• Why didn’t these men who were close to Jesus not give an answer?

• By the way, this was not the only time this discussion took place, it happened a couple of other times.

• When our hearts are focused on our selfish desires, it will put a wall between ourselves and God because deep down, we are embarrassed by our selfishness.

• The Twelve were probably too embarrassed to confess that they had been arguing about their relative positions in Christ’s program and particularly His coming kingdom.

• As I said, perhaps the special privilege given to Peter, James, and John at the Transfiguration had prompted this discussion.

• Their arguing also implies they were placing too much emphasis on the external glories of the kingdom, just as the general populace regularly did. This would have made Christ’s announcement of His death most challenging to understand.

• When we are focused on our own selfish desires, we build walls.

• As a father and husband, if everything in the home is about me and my desires, I do not want to talk about it because I know deep down, I am not right.

If I’m being selfish

• I will argue with you and justify why I am acting and thinking the way I am.

• I want my way no matter what, nothing will get in the way of that.

• I will build a wall between anyone or anything that gets in the way of me fulfilling my selfish desires.

• These guys wanted to be rock stars in the kingdom, they wanted the dominant positions in the kingdom.

• When this situation arose on another occasion in Matthew 20:20-ff when the mother of James and John asked Jesus to give them a special place, the other disciples got mad at James and John.

• Why?

• Because they were all selfishly seeking high positions! One possible reason they were seeking position, these guys according to the Jewish culture probably were rejected when they were young in rabbinical school. They possibly were still feeling the pain of rejection and thought high position would heal that pain.

• When we are driven by selfishness, we will build a wall between ourselves and Jesus. We do this because we do not want Jesus to see what we are doing.

• It is funny because when these guys were asked by Jesus what they were arguing about, they were silent, and they built a wall because they knew the argument was selfish.

• They were ashamed. The funny thing is that Jesus already KNEW what they were arguing about.

• Jesus is trying to get them to say it out loud.

There is freedom in confession and repentance.

• When you feel a wall going up, maybe there is some selfishness happening in your life that needs to be removed.

• Let’s look at verse 35.

Mark 9:35 NIV

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

II. Selfishness is not a path to glory.

• The ambitions of the Twelve imperil their fellowship and following of Jesus. In an unusual expression, Mark says that Jesus sat down and called the Twelve to himself.

• Now it is embarrassment time for the guys.

• Since the guys would not fess up, Jesus will share some helpful insights with them.

• “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

• These guys were full of selfish ambition.

• These guys were seeking glory the wrong way.

• They wanted to be; first, they wanted to be recognized.

• Jesus said that is not the way to gain glory. The way Jess explains it to them and later will show them by washing their feet is counter-intuitive to what people would think.

Philippians 2:3–4 NIV

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

• Jesus spoke on this subject often because he knew selfish ambition was a problem for people.

• What was made it even more difficult for the disciples to grasp this teaching was the fact that in the Greek world of the time, service was generally considered demeaning and undignified.

• Plato said “HOW CAN A MAN BE HAPPY WHEN HE HAS TO SERVE SOMEONE. (Plato, Gorgias 491e).

• PLATO was expressing the sentiment of the day.

• As to self-centered ambition and vanity,

Proverbs 16:18 NIV

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Lets look at a couple examples of prideful leaders throughout the Old and New Testament

Sennacherib

2 Chronicles 32:14 NIV

Who of all the gods of these nations that my predecessors destroyed has been able to save his people from me? How then can your god deliver you from my hand?

2 Chronicles 32:21 NIV

And the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword.

Nebuchadnezzar

Daniel 4:30–33 NIV

he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.” Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

Herod Agrippa

Acts 12:21–23 NIV

On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

• On the other hand, note what is said about the commended centurion (Matt. 8:8, 10, 13), the humble Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:29; cf. Matt. 15:27, 28).

• The world tells you it is all about you, make yourself happy, pave your own way, but Jesus says the way to glory is through service and serving.

• Selfishness will not lead to pleasing God, and ultimately it will not bring you joy or blessings.

Mark 9:36–37 NIV

He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

III. Selfishness overlooks God.

• When our hearts are governed by selfishness, we will overlook God. What is important to God is not essential to us. His passion is not our passion.

• What is important to us when we are driven by selfishness is what we want, when we want it and how we want it.

• I find it interesting that in the midst of this conversation Jesus took a child into His arms.

• Why did He do that?

• During that time period generally, children were looked at differently than they are today.

• Today families will treat children like they rule the home, in that day children were looked upon as more of a necessity than a joy.

• Children were seen and not heard, they were not the center of the universe.

• So, Jesus takes one of these children of whom were seen as insignificant in those days and said,

Mark 9:37 NIV

“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

• Jesus is saying that we are to welcome those who we do not see as significant and when we do, we are embracing Jesus.

• Put a better way.

• When we are selfish, our world is turned upside down. We value things and use people. We gravitate toward people who will help us to get what we want, and we will ignore folks who do not help us to fulfill our desires.

• We see this in broken relationships all the time.

• When we are propelled by selfishness, we will overlook God because God does not fit our agenda.

• One of the things that are of utmost importance to God is how we see and treat other people.

• When we focus on self, we forget that God has called us to love others, it is one the greatest Commandments!

• Jesus wants to make sure that His disciples understood that those society deemed unimportant are essential to God.

• When we are selfish, we will overlook what is important to God.

• Jesus took a child in His arms and said that humbly accommodating oneself to the needs of a child, rather than striving to get ahead of other adults, displays the attitude Christ wants and is a way of receiving Christ Himself and His message.

CONCLUSION

• When our heart drifts from God, it is a slow drift.

• Usually, one’s heart does not drift away in one day, it is a process that takes time.

• We have to be aware of the fact that our heart can drift and take steps to make sure we stay anchored to Jesus.

• Make sure as you look inside of yourself that life is not just about you and what you want, make sure your life is about what God wants, and by doing so, you will be blessed beyond belief!

• Eleven of the twelve got it together in the end, if you are drifting, you can stop it, focus on Jesus and embrace Him!