We Serve – Mark 10:41-45
When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Introduction
As I was reading Hin study of this lesson, I came across this little tidbit. It says “In a museum at Greenfield Village, Detroit, Michigan, there is a huge steam locomotive. Beside this complicated piece of machinery is a sign showing boiler pressure, size and number of wheels, horsepower, lengths, weight and more. The bottom line indicates that 96% of the power generated was used to move the locomotive, and only 4% was left to pull the load. Some churches are like that.
That caused me to pause for a good long minute. How many churches have we known to be like that? Jesus reminds us in Matthew 9:37 when he said to his disciples “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” Last week, we talked a great deal of who the church is. I think we definitively answered that the church is not a building, but it is the people who come together as a saintly mob, that is a congregation, to learn from and edify one another. But there is an example that Jesus gives us in these verses that if we call ourselves Christians - Christ followers - that we must do as well. We must do the work.
Why do we work? - Genesis 2:15
Why do we work though? Work for the Lord is something that he gives us to do, all the way back to Adam! Look in Genesis 2:15. It reads “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” This is an interesting thing to me because it shows us that when we work for the Lord, it is something that is pleasurable and reminds us of the riches we are building up in Heaven. One commentary of Genesis states that the work that is being done here teaches the dignity of work in the original creation. It should be noted that the fall of mankind was not due to the work being done in the garden, but rather the temptation of sin itself. The work was good for Adam: no thorns, no weeds, no troubles. Additionally, when we are doing work for the Lord, just as Adam was, makes us an active participant in the actual work of the Kingdom. The work that Adam was given was not just to give him something to do, it was to ensure that he was doing the work of the Lord.
This reminds me of something I read in Randy Alcorn’s book titled “Heaven”. If you haven’t read this book, I highly urge you to get a copy of it soon because it will completely change your viewpoint not only of what is coming when we arrive in Heaven, but how you will live your life here on Earth. He uses scripture to back up what he is saying in his book, and in particular to this lesson today, he writes about what work will be like in Heaven, actually using the verse we just quoted as his basis. Alcorn reminds us that work became mundane and toilsome because of the curse of sin. But in Heaven, because the curse will be lifted from us because of Jesus Christ, our work in Heaven will be joyful and fulfilling, giving glory to God. But we have the opportunity to do a little of that here on Earth as well. Let’s look at one other reason why we should work.
What other reason do we work? - Colossians 3:23-24
Look at Colossians 3:23-24. It reads “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” This is somewhat echoed in 1 Corinthians 10:31, which says “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” These two verses remind us that when we work, we are to do it for the glory of God first, and to be reminded that we are serving a higher power and a higher calling. Did you ever stop to think that the work that you do is ordained by God? We just saw in the book of Genesis that God intended work to be pleasurable, but because of sin it is toilsome. But I feel that God gives us jobs to do that are particularly based upon the skills and gifts that we have in the Holy Spirit. Colossians 4:17 says “see to it hat you complete the work you have received in the Lord.” What kind of work have you seen to that you know has come from the Lord?
Now I know that some of you might be thinking, well, that’s easy for you to do Matt, you’re a preacher! Well, as you well know, I’ve not always been in the pulpit. I was ordained back in 2011, and I worked in the regular business world most of that time. Now, to me, this is what God had ordained me to do at that time. It was to work towards getting better in my faith, to continue to hone my skills as a speaker, but also to take the time to understand and work with people who were not similar to me. I feel that God put me in that particular place because it was helping me to do the work that HE had given to me. I was completing the work that God had given to me at that time, and I know that in whatever work that you are doing right now, you have to look at it in the same light.
When we do the work that God gives us, no matter where we are in our lives, we will be greeted by Jesus just as he greeted the churches that he wrote to in Revelation. In chapter 2 and verse 2 of that book of the Bible, Jesus wrote to the church in Ephesus that “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance”. Jesus knows our work, and he knows the tasks that have been set before us. But be reminded of another example that Jesus gives to us about work and why we should glorify God through it. In John 17:4, Jesus said “I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do.” When we follow the example of Christ, we will want to do what God tells us to do. This leads us to something perhaps most important for us to know today if we follow Jesus’ footsteps.
We work because Christ is still working - John 5:17
One last thing that we know about work and how we must follow in those footsteps is that he himself is still working for us today. Look at John 5:17. It says “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” He said this to the Jews that were persecuting him, but I feel that Jesus said this to remind us that even though he said this during his earthly ministry, he also meant it as instruction for us today. Jesus’ words always give weight to today’s society and to today’s troubles. This is why we quote the Bible still to this day and find its relevance in today’s society. But Jesus is still working, as is God!
Did you ever stop to think that God is a worker himself? It’s not like he worked for those six days and just kicked back and said “Well, I’m done!” Retirement time for me! No! He still works today! This has been an argument of theologians and scholars for centuries: is God still working today, or is he the eternal clockmaker, setting things into motion and observing them? I think that it is the former, easily, and it comes from our stories in the Old Testament, like when he speaks to Moses in the burning bush, or when he speaks to the prophets. But it comes from the New Testament, very clearly shown when Jesus Christ walked this earth, healing the sick, healing the sinner, and ultimately dying for you and me, but rising from the grave to give us grace everlasting. God’s work comes in showing Saul a great light that changed his life, making the great killer of Christians into one of them himself, making him into Paul. And it shows even today. How many times have you prayed for God’s will to be shown to you, and you follow that path and it happens? Does this sound like something that is from a God that is sitting back watching everything but is not involved? Absolutely not! Our God is a worker! And our Christ is a worker, being our intercessor to the Lord Most High. Being the High Priest. Being the Life Everlasting! And if we are God’s image-bearers, for we are made in his image, are we not to do the work like our Jesus did here on the Earth? Absolutely we are! Will it be hard? Absolutely! It’s part of the curse, but when we do the work that God has given to us, we will find ease, comfort, and most importantly, that Heavenly JOY that we can experience here on Earth.
Look at what Jesus did here on earth. He was not static. Did you ever look at the maps in the back of your Bible? I always did when I was a kid, even when I was supposed to be paying attention to Dad. One of the ones that fascinated me the most was all the walking that Jesus did throughout the Holy Land. Doing a quick Google search, some of the conservative estimates of Jesus’ ministry has him walking around 3125 miles. Others have said that over his lifetime, he likely walked over 21000 miles total. This, of course, is just speculation, but we have a rough idea that it was a LOT. Now, I say all that to say this: Jesus did not stay in one place. He did not establish a brick and mortar church. Before his earthly ministry, he worked with his earthly father, Joseph, in the carpentry shop. This would have certainly had him at least going to the marketplace to buy supplies and then in turn sell the things that he and his father had made together. But when he started his earthly ministry, he would go to the seaside to talk with fishermen, making them fishers of men. He would go into temples to teach. He would enter homes and teach. He would encounter people in sycamore trees and have them turn away from their sins and repay the ones they had stolen from four times as much. And even after his resurrection, Jesus still did work. He appeared to his disciples, he reconnected Peter from the disappointment that he had done when denying his Lord three times, and he, as the book of John says, did so many things that it would take several books to account for all that Jesus did.
Conclusion
Jesus did work for a purpose, and it was this: to glorify God. And that is our call for work today too. We can know that our work here on earth builds up treasures in Heaven. Jesus tells us this in Matthew 6:19-21, which says “do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We can know that our work will always be worth it when we do it for the Lord. And when we do work as the Church, not just in a church building, we will see that joyfulness come. It’s part of what we’ve been talking about over the last few weeks, not only about what the church is, but with revival. It’s about making an impact for the Kingdom of God, not just here in Suches, but around the world.
When I lived in Sandy Springs, I was exposed to people just in my high school from 52 different countries. In a recent survey of Fannin County for the tourism board, they stated that something to the effect of 30ish different nationalities were encountered coming to Blue Ridge during the last year. I can tell you that the same could be said for Union County, probably more! And this is not to take into account when we ourselves travel. You never know when you go and talk to someone about Jesus where that message may go.
I will finish with this. The great preacher Charles Spurgeon said this once: I realized that God could save the world without me, but when he told me that I could help him I praised him for the honor and the privilege. We have a great honor and privilege to work in the kingdom. I will say this to you, not as a pressure, but as a question to you: how will you work in the kingdom this week, this month, or even over the next year? In the next few weeks, there will be positions open on different committees in our church. This is not a ‘you had better do it or else’ kind of plea. It’s an open and honest one: I hope that you will pray that God will reveal to you what kind of work you need to be doing in your life for God’s kingdom. If that happens to be something here at the church, that is fantastic. But if God places something on your heart and that is in His will for you to do that is outside the church, we will be in prayer and will be celebrating with you as well! God will give us the opportunities. We do not go into the world to be served, but we serve it. And the harvest is great, and we can be workers to take it in. Let’s pray.
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