OTHERS, But Not You
32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,
33 Saying,Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:
34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.
36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?
37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.
38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:
40 But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.
41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.
42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.
43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:
44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. —Mark 10:32-45 (KJV - King James Version)
Live a Life that Matters! - OTHERS, But Not YOU!
If you want to live a life that matters, sacrifice, suffer, submit and
These are 4 words we don’t like very much, because they seem like steps down to obscurity, but in God’s Kingdom they are steps up to true greatness.
Jesus Himself showed us what true
It’s not about people waiting on me. It’s about me waiting on people.
To His ambitious disciples, Jesus made it very clear: The way up is
If we want to live a life that matters, then we too must
It’s about OTHERS, NOT
Jesus was going to Jerusalem to sacrifice Himself for us, and He invites his fearful followers to come along.
It’s really easy for our
James and John wanted proximity, position, power and prominence.
They wanted to be the
Jesus did say in Matthew 19:28: “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Warren Wiersbe comments, “Jesus spoke about a
We need to
The world says, “actions speak louder than words” while the Word says, “motives speak louder than actions and words.”
Don’t Let
Jesus told the two that they would suffer if they wanted to lead and serve.
We need to
The spiritual attitude of the
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to be angry at the sin we see in others, while we indulge in the same ones ourselves?
We are prone to
If the disciples wanted to be leaders in His kingdom, they first had to elevate others.
What is a servant?
It’s someone whose heart is intent upon, and whose will is bound to, the will and wishes of another.
If I am your servant, then what you say goes. You have the last word.
Let’s think through the difference between a servant and a volunteer.
A
A
Someone said it well: “The servant does what he is told when he is told to do it. The volunteer does what he wants to do when he feels like doing it.”
Jesus didn’t recruit volunteers; He redeemed us to be servants.
Embrace the example of Jesus.
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Do you remember Pat Tillman.
He loved football, but he loved his freedom as an American more.
When Pat arrived at Arizona State as a freshman in 1994, he received the school’s last remaining football scholarship that year. Initially that meant a spot on the end of the bench, but by the time Pat graduated summa cum laude from ASU, he was no bench-sitter. Tillman was named the Pac-10’s Conference Defensive Player of the Year and chosen by the Arizona Cardinals in the 1998 NFL draft.
It didn’t bother Pat that he was the 226th pick out of 241 to be drafted. Five months later, in spite of his undersized 5’11”, 200 pound frame, he became Arizona’s starting strong safety. In his third season, Pat set a franchise record with 224 tackles. In 2001, the then Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams offered him a $9 million, five-year contract, but Pat declined out of loyalty to the team that had drafted him.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the 25-year old superstar began to evaluate his priorities. In the spring of 2002, after returning from his honeymoon, Pat announced his decision to leave the team after only four seasons even though it meant turning down a three-year, $3.6 million contract. Tillman felt called to lay aside his privileged life in order to defend the country that had allowed it. So in May 2002, Pat enlisted in the U.S. Army as a Ranger and following basic training was deployed in the Persian Gulf. He went from earning millions a year to an annual salary of $18,000. Then on April 22, 2004, Pat Tillman died in Afghanistan after a firefight with anti-coalition militia forces.
According to former Cardinals head coach Dave McGinnis, “Pat Tillman represented all that was good in sports. He knew his purpose in life and proudly walked away from a career in football to a greater calling.”
(AOL News, 4-23-04, and NFL Insider, 3-20-03; Greg Asimakoupoulos, www.PreachingToday.com)
In a sense, that’s what Jesus invites us to do if we want to live a life that matters. Jesus invites us to live our lives with purpose and pursue the greater calling of giving our lives in service for Him.
Jesus Gave Us the Perfect Example - John 13
1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;
3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
9Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.
15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. —John 13:1-17 (KJV - King James Version)
Happy Are YOU - If you
OTHERS!
Jesus was giving them a perfect example of how to serve others!
It isn’t as much about “foot-washing” - that was what was most necessary in Jesus’ day.
Humility, and serving others in the way that will bless the body of Christ - that is what it is all about today!
Start with salvation, and move into service!