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Answering The Great Commandment And Commission

The Challenge: Be a servant. (Serve)

Sunday October 8, 2023 - Pastor Wungreiso Valui

Mark 9-11

The Message: The gospel's message of hope is that Jesus arrived with a servant's heart.
In servanthood, we can encounter God,
In service, we meet and engage with people's lives,
In prayer, we meet Jesus, enabling us to walk in His footsteps.
How can we truly embrace the concept of being the least important and serving everyone?

Who Is the Greatest?

Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." Mark 9: 33-35

Jesus does not oppose ambition; instead, He instructs us to redirect our ambition towards serving others rather than solely pursuing self-interest. "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit" Philippians 2:3

When Jesus said "last and servant", He was really describing Himsel. He was accurately describing His nature. He was indeed the first but willingly made Himself the last of all and the servant of all for our sake.

1. Jesus Challenged Us To Be The Last of All.

A. The Temptation To Be Great

Jesus responded to the temptation of greatness by saying "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve." Matthew 4:10

1. The true challenge is to make service to our neighbor the manifestation and celebration of our total and undivided service to God.
2. The desire to be praised and to gain recognition should be foreign to a follower of Jesus. Jesus wants us to embrace last as a choice, allowing others to be preferred before us, and not only because we are forced to be last.

In the worldly idea of power, a great man is distinguished by how many people serve him. What would happen if Christians stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self.

B. Transfiguration: morphó?, Changing form in keeping with inner reality Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. Mark 9:2

1. Jesus Hid His Glory To Serve Others.
2. Transfigured before them: Jesus did this because He just told His disciples that He was going the way of the cross (Mark 8:31) and that they should follow Him in the way of the cross (Mark 8:34-38) - Downward Mobility.

I. Upward Mobility

Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles Mark 9:5a

1. Our entire lifestyle revolves around the goal of ascending the success ladder and reaching the pinnacle. We prefer to stay on the mountaintop.
2. True personal growth goes beyond the unbridled pursuit of upward mobility

II. Downward Mobility: A Boy Is Healed

And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. Mark 9:14

1. Peter wanted to stay on the mountain, "It is good for us to be here." Let us build a tent. Lets stay here and not go down.
2. Jesus fundamentally opposes the idea of upward mobility, emphasizing that true freedom can only be attained through embracing downward mobility. The Word of God descended to live among us in the humble role of a servant, illustrating that the divine path is inherently oriented towards humility and selflessness.

We believe that success means that God is with us while failure means that we have sinned.

So He said to them, This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting. Mark 9:29

1. Jesus instructed his disciples that spending time with the Father is essential for effective service. Without a genuine and personal connection with God, your efforts in service will lack the necessary strength and impact.

III. Embracing humility and going downward

1. Embracing humility and downward movement is a central concept in Christian faith.
2. God chose to reveal Himself through humility and descent.
3. God didn't choose a powerful or prominent group for spreading salvation.
4. God chose a modest girl from Galilee was selected as a vessel for this message.
5. Jesus, who was God himself, demonstrated humility by being born as a vulnerable baby.
6. He lived a life marked by humility, from being a refugee in Egypt to dining with sinners.
7. Jesus transitioned from power to powerlessness, greatness to humility, strength to weakness, and glory to disgrace.
8. Jesus entire life was characterized by a rejection of upward mobility.

2. Jesus Challenged Us To Be Servant of All

And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Mark 10:41-45

Jesus used the example of dying on the cross, welcoming children, serving others and promoting unity as an illustration of being a servant to everyone.

Death and Resurrection: Jesus came to serve

For He taught His disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day." Mark 9:31

1. Recognize God in Service: Understand that serving others is a way to encounter God.
2. Shift Your Perspective: View service as a path to deeper understanding of God and a vision of the true God.

The path of humility and selflessness

Some individuals wanted to make Jesus a king. The disciples desired Him to display His power. The disciples hoped to share in his authority and sit on thrones alongside him. However, Jesus consistently declined these desires and instead emphasized the path of humility and selflessness.

Children And Servanthood

Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me." Mark 9:36-37

1. God is where we are weak, vulnerable, small, and dependent.
2. God is where the defenseless and the powerless are.

Can we come to know God when our focus is elsewhere, on success, influence, and power?

Children And The Kingdom

Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them. Mark 10:13-16

1. When we honor and welcome a child or someone who serves like Jesus, we are, in fact, honoring and welcoming Jesus Himself because He is the ultimate servant.

"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. Mark 10:42

1. Some Christians don't hesitate to involve children, inexperienced and vulnerable fellow Christians in their personal disputes and disagreements. While they may come out relatively unscathed, the individuals they bring into these conflicts often suffer significant harm.

Servanthood and Community: Jesus had no enemy

Now John answered Him, saying, Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us. But Jesus said, Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is on our side. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward. Mark 9:38-41

We suffer from low esteem: Comparing ourselves to friends or peers who seem to be thriving is a common occurrence.

1. This comparison can lead to feelings of inadequacy when we believe that others are outperforming us.
2. Even with significant effort and hard work, not seeing tangible results can be discouraging.
3. This frustration may lead to questioning our abilities and the decisions we've made.

The reward of servanthood does not lie in success and achievement.
The reward of servanthood is not found in wealth and authority.
The reward of the kingdom of God is pure Joy!

Radical servanthood

1. The way to encounter God. In the center of servanthood, SERVICE becomes much more than doing good for unfortunate people.
2. Servanthood takes us beyond the distinctions between wealth and poverty, success and failure, fortune and misfortune.
3. Our eyes are opened to the vision of the true God who chose to be revealed in servanthood.

Friendship: When we serve God, servanthood and our friendships blend together.

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. John 15:15

Friendship with Jesus: What It Entails

1. Our life in Christ and our work in His name are like the two parts of a cross, inseparable.
2. We should not anticipate constant approval and admiration. We must be ready for the possibility of rejection.
3. When we don't start our ministry with a personal connection to God, it can become dull and boring.
4. On the flip side, if our spiritual life doesn't motivate us to actively serve, it can lead to too much self-analysis and lose its energy.

Challenge

If discipleship requires following Jesus in down-ward mobility, is this truly a human option? Is it possible to take Jesus totally seriously?

1. A Rich Young Man Question "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" v17
2. Jesus Answered Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me. But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." Mark 10:21-22

1. Haven't we already concluded that we can't simply accept Jesus' words as they are but must instead adjust them to fit our pursuit of upward mobility?

2. Which is more difficult? Downward or Upward

Application: that I may receive my sight

So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. Mark 10:51-5

Jesus is asking, what do you want me to do for you?

In prayer we meet Jesus,
In servanthood we encounter God.
In service we meet people and the suffering Christ.
Bartimaeus, the blind poor beggar met Jesus in prayer
God revealed Himself in servanthood-the blind poor beggar's eyes were opened to the true vision of God.

Let your prayer this week be:
Jesus, that I may receive my sight.
So you may follow Jesus on the way.