Don’t Hold Back from Being Served and Being a Servant

If you have Bible—and I hope you or somebody around you does that you can look on with—let me invite you to open it to Mark 10. Much like last week, I want to encourage you if you don’t have something to write with or write on, get something like that. I want you to be prepared to respond in a particular way later on, so that will be helpful.

We’ve gathered together to meet with God, to hear his Word and to respond to him, especially in light of how he’s moving in a special way among us. We had another beautiful, sweet, powerful time in prayer together on Friday night here, praying for and with each other. God was speaking clearly to us through his Word and the mouths of everybody from kids to individuals with special needs. Those who were here on Friday will not soon forget Julia, who has Downs Syndrome, just speaking God’s love over us in a powerful way, in ways that only God could have orchestrated during that time, in ways that can only be explained by his hand and only be attributed to his glory. That’s what we are praying for. We want to see in our lives, in our church and in our city things that can only be explained by God’s hand and only be attributed to God’s glory.

So I want to encourage you to be a part of this next Friday night as we’ll gather together again. The only difference is we’re going to go on the road, at least this next Friday night. Instead of focusing on this location, with everybody coming here, we’re going to be at our Montgomery County location on Friday night. Hopefully, this will be a reminder to us of the greater church family we are across this city in different ways. I know it’s a little bit of an extra drive, but I want to encourage you to be there—Friday night, 7:30 at MoCo.

I also want to encourage you to give testimony to what God is doing in your life by  going to mcleanbible.org/share, or by texting SHARE to 571-450-9152. As you see God by his Spirit moving in different ways in your life, in your family, in our church, in our city, during these days, share what you see God doing. That’s what these outlets are for. There are so many different stories of how God is working, as well as how we’re praying for God to work and move. Please share as you see God moving. 

We said a couple weeks ago, when we were reading about the Red Sea in Exodus 14, that we’re not going back; we’re not holding back. I want to remind you of what we’ve talked about and what God is doing among us. We’re not holding back and here’s the way I would describe it: This is Word-driven. We want everything we’re doing to be driven by God’s Word. And Spirit-directed. We do not want to settle for natural religious motion. We want the Spirit of God to move supernaturally among us, in us, through us. We want to follow the leadership of his Spirit through Word-driven, Spirit-directed confession of sin and our need for God. Which is something, according to the Bible, we continually do. 

Let’s be clear. It’s not that we keep confessing sin for which we’ve already been forgiven. Once we confess sin before God, we know we have forgiveness through faith in Jesus, so we don’t have to keep going back to past sin and confessing it. At the same time, as we draw closer to God the more we will see sin in our lives that maybe we didn’t see before. 

It’s interesting that when we look at the life of the apostle Paul, we see this progression. In 1 Corinthians 15:9, he wrote, “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” Then about four or five years later, he wrote this in Ephesians 3:8, “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given.” Then, a couple years after that, he wrote in 1 Timothy 1:15, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” 

So do you see the progression? He went from calling himself the least of all the apostles to the very least of all the saints, to the foremost sinner in the world. See how the closer Paul came to God, the clearer Paul saw his sin. So don’t think, “Okay, we had confession last week; I don’t need to do confession this week.” So before God, examine your heart all the more; first, from this past week, then also in deeper and deeper ways than you have before. 

One of the things I see God doing among us is he’s bringing people to a deeper awareness of sin in our lives, a deeper hatred for sin in our lives, seeing our sin more like God sees it, in ways that cause us to call out for his grace and mercy in our lives, through confession, then through Word-driven and Spirit-directed intercession. 

We’re not holding back from praying with each other and for each other, crying out for God’s help in our lives, in each other’s lives, in all kinds of ways—physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally, amidst trials and temptations. And not just for each other. We want to stand in the gap and intercede for our friends and neighbors, our city, our nation and the nations. We actually believe prayer matters. We believe that when we pray, God acts according to what we pray. We read this not long ago in our church’s Bible reading, “The Lord did as Moses asked” (Exodus 8:31). What a statement! If God gave us what we were asking for, what would we have? If God gave us what we were asking for our city, what would we have? If God gave us what we were asking for others, or for the nations, what would we have? We believe that when we ask, God acts. We’re going to see this all the more in our Bible reading this week in Exodus 32. 

Which, by the way, let me remind you of our church’s Bible reading plan. You can go to mcleanbible.org/biblereading, download our Bible Reading Plan and jump in with us. Start this week, as we hear from God together each day. It’s so good to talk with people in the church, and be like, “Did you see that this morning, what God is saying to us as a church?” So I encourage you to follow along with that.

Let’s not hold back from Word-driven, Spirit-directed confession, intercession and the obedience that flows from that. We want our lives to be different as a result of this gathering today, that we would not look the same when we leave as we do right now. And from these gatherings on Friday nights, we want our lives and our church to have the aroma of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). 

We want Word-driven, Spirit-directed obedience in our lives that leads to proclamation in the power of God’s Spirit. One of the effects I see of what God is doing among us is people are more bold in telling others who God is, what God has done and what God is doing. So, yes, share the gospel all the more. Invite your friends to come. Some of you may have come today because someone invited you; we are so glad you’re here. We want you to see who God is, what God has done and what God is doing right now, even in your life.

Let’s proclaim who God is as we worship God in Spirit and truth. I have been so encouraged, just seeing the Holy Spirit working. The way I would describe him is the “divine Maestro,” orchestrating our gatherings in ways that can only be explained by his hand and only be attributed to his glory. We want to worship in spirit and truth, in ways that can’t be manufactured by man. So we want to plan wisely, but we also want to be sensitive to the leadership of the Spirit as a Word-driven, Spirit-directed family. This is not just about each of us individually experiencing God more and more and more. Yes, I want that for each one of you individually. But this is also for us together as a family, from different nations and backgrounds, with different stories and experiences. We are brothers and sisters, we’re sons and daughters of God, our heavenly Father. 

I was traveling this past week and words can’t describe what it feels like to see our one-year-old little girl reach out her arms to me when I got home, ready to be held by me. That’s what we’re saying. As sons and daughters of God, of our heavenly Father, we’re coming together to say “We want more and more and more of you.”  So in all this, we’re not going to hold back. 

I’m loving how God has set up our journey through the book of Mark to intersect with what he’s doing in our midst. Think about last week when we looked at the rich young man who was holding back from following Jesus, holding on to the things of this world. We looked at that text in a way that led us to ask, “What am I going to let go of?” People started confessing things, letting go of things, holding on to Jesus. People were coming to Jesus for the first time, or coming back to Jesus. 

I am confident that God’s Word is going to speak just as clearly today. I want to show you this next text in God’s Word, then give us time to respond to it. This is not just a show to watch; this is a gathering before God to participate in. You’re not the audience; he’s the audience. We’re all gathered to experience, see and know him more. So let’s pray? 

God, we want to hear from you, so help us, we pray. We pray for a spirit of humility across this room and in all the locations where we’re gathered right now. Open our eyes to see things we can only see with the help of your Spirit. Help us to respond however you lead us, no matter what that means for our lives. Direct and orchestrate these next few minutes by your Spirit, we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Okay, let’s hear straight from God’s Word, Mark 10:32–45. The Bible says:

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.”

Wow, there is so much here. So how do we summarize this? We’ve looked at  this last verse before. We actually looked at it during Christmas, if you were here when we were walking through Philippians 2:7, about how Jesus, God in the flesh, took on the nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. As I was studying this passage this week, I thought, “It is no coincidence that we’re back in this passage right now because of how it intersects with what God is doing among us and saying to us during these days.”

As we go through his passage, I’m going to use first-person pronouns in terms of God speaking to you, right where you are sitting right now. What is God saying, through his Word, by his Spirit, to you? I’d encourage you to write these three things down.

1. God is clearly saying, “I want to serve you.”

God is saying to you, right now where you are sitting, “I want to serve you.” This is the startling truth of Christianity. Jesus, God in the flesh, the creator of all things, the ruler of the entire universe, wants to serve you. It almost sounds blasphemous to say, except for God is the one who says it. He says, “This is why I came. The reason I came was not ultimately to be served by you, but to serve you.” 

The word for “serve” here literally means to wait on you, like a waiter serving you at a table at a restaurant. Jesus says, “I’m coming to you and saying, ‘How can I help you? What can I get you? I am your servant.” Now, obviously this doesn’t mean that God is some genii who is ready to grant every wish. That’s clear when it comes to the request of the disciples in this passage. It also doesn’t mean that you’re at the center of the universe. And it certainly doesn’t mean you have authority over God, that he must do whatever you tell him to do. He’s God. He has all authority in all the universe. He is at the center of the universe—that’s the point. 

The one who has all authority at the center of all the universe became a man and came to you. Why? To serve you! To help you! Not to say, “Here are all the things you need to do in order to get to me.” He came to say, “I came in pursuit of you.” This is totally different from every other religion in the world. This is God pursuing you, right where you are in your seat right now. The one with all authority wants to serve you.

As we gather to pray, confess and worship, that’s what we’re doing. We’re humbling ourselves and saying, “We need your help, God. We need you to serve us, in our lives, in our families, in our church. Our city needs you. Our country needs you to serve us. The nations need you to help us.” This is the heart of prayer.

Remember, we’ve talked about this before. To be prayer-less is to be pride-full. If you are not praying desperately for God’s help in your life, it is a sure sign that your life is full of pride. If we as the church are not praying desperately before God, as a church, then it is a sure sign we are full of pride before God. If you have, or we have, convinced ourselves that we can do this on our own, we don’t need his help. The reason so many of us are so busy and have so little time for prayer is because we’ve convinced ourselves that with more and more of our own effort, we can do it ourselves. Meanwhile, the God of the universe is saying, “You can’t. I am here to help you. So, seek me. Call upon me for help. I want to serve you.”

We have so many needs in our lives and God is saying to us right now, “I want to serve you, if only you will seek me.” That’s what we’re doing today. That’s why we’re gathered today. That’s why we’re gathering again on Friday nights, because we need and want God to help us—and he is doing it. He is faithful to help.

You need God to serve you. You may think, “No, I don’t. I can do it on my own.” Your very breath comes from God. Even if you hate God, your life comes from the very one you hate. The proper place for creatures before the creator is on your knees, saying, “I need you.” Praise God your creator, who wants to help you, is saying right now, “I want to help you be all I’ve created you to be. I want you to experience all I’ve created you to experience. I want to serve you.”

2. God is clearly saying, “I want to make you great by making you a servant of others.”

The context in this chapter is pretty clear, yet is very different than the world thinks His disciples are arguing over who’s the greatest because that’s how the world works. Who has the power? Who has the authority to exercise over others to exercise? Who can lord over others? Jesus says, “It shall not be so among you. Whoever would be great among you must be your servant.” See it?. Jesus is calling his disciples then—and you and me right now—to greatness, to a kind of greatness that is totally different than the way the world defines greatness. 

God is calling you and me to greatness by serving others. One of the evidences of the Spirit of Jesus moving in power among us will be more and more selfless service to others. I want to encourage you to consider what this looks like in your life. Let’s picture the people you and I will interact with this week, in your home. Picture their faces right now. Then picture the people you’ll interact with where you work, where you go to school. Then broaden out to people you will exercise with, attend an event with, interact with in other ways this week. Now, with all those faces in your mind, stop and see yourself as their servant. For people in your home, workplace, school, this city—you’re the servant this week. That changes how you live, doesn’t it? That changes the way life looks in your home, when you’re the servant of the others who are there. This changes the way you interact at work or in the city, when you’re thinking, “I’m here to serve all these people.” 

This changes the way you view church, right? We don’t come to church, not in the Spirit of God, saying, “What can I get out of this?” and stop there. Yes, we want to grow in our relationship with God, but surely the Spirit of Jesus compels us to say, “What can I give here today? How can I serve others?” May God, by his Spirit right now, call hearts to serve the next generation—our kids.  Kids’ Quest and The Rock are going on right now in different locations. 

Who is God calling you to serve the next generation? Through Access, our ministry to individuals with special needs? Or church groups? Our church groups are bursting at the seams. One of our greatest needs as a church is church group leaders. Who is God calling to step up and serve? Just say to God, “How do you want me to serve in the church?” then see where he leads. Do not hesitate to ask that question.

Pastor Todd was sick this past week. When I sent out the notes for today, he texted me saying, “God used this passage like a lightning strike in my soul when I was 16 years old, to put a stake in the ground and be a servant.” Anybody who knows Pastor Todd knows that has been played out in his life in all kinds of ways, even during a prayer gathering here one Friday night. Somebody had gotten sick and it was Pastor Todd, among others, with gloves on, helping clean up that mess. That’s a true servant. His text went on to say, “I want to encourage you to speak to the senior saints and tell them we need them in all these ways. So from Pastor Todd, from me, and most importantly from God, to 16-year-olds and senior saints and everywhere in between, “Be great by serving.”

Don’t miss the connection here between Jesus serving us and us serving others. God is saying, “I want to make you great by making you servants of others.” It’s sometimes hard to serve others, right? I’m guessing there are people in your life who are hard for you to serve, who may even seem undeserving. This is where we need Jesus to serve us and help us serve the hard-to-serve or undeserving in ways that are not natural to us, in ways that come from him when we realize he serves us. We are hard to serve and undeserving. God serves us, even though we rebel against him.

This leads to the last thing God is saying to us right now in this text. It is so clear, and so stunning.

3. God is clearly saying, “I want to set you free from slavery to sin and yourself.”

Can you see this? Jesus says, “I came, not to be served, but to serve; to give my life as a ransom.” That’s a good word. It refers to a payment to release someone from slavery. So why would Jesus use that word here?

Well, the picture in the Bible is clear. We actually read it yesterday in our church’s Bible reading. In John 8:34, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” So is there anybody who sins here? Yes, that’s all of us. It’s anybody who does things our own way instead of God’s way. Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. In and of ourselves, that’s who we are. It’s like we can’t help it. We’re all prone to sin in many ways. It looks different in each of our lives, but we’re all prone to idolatry, immorality, impurity, impure thoughts, impure motives, words, actions. We’re prone to addictions. We’re prone to anger. We’re prone to pride. We’re prone to worry. We’re prone to not trust in God. 

One of the most powerful moments in our gathering this last Friday night was when I asked people to stand who were struggling to trust God with something in their lives right now. In response, I was standing and most of the room was standing, saying, “We’re prone to not trust in God, trusting in ourselves more than God.” So we’re slaves to sin in and of ourselves. 

Here’s the good news of Mark 10:45: Jesus came to change that. Jesus came to set us free from slavery to sin and trusting in ourselves by being a ransom for us. This takes us all the way back to the beginning of this passage where Jesus says yet again to his disciples, “I’m headed to a cross that’s waiting for me in Jerusalem. When I get there, I’m going to be mocked, spit upon, flogged and killed.” Jesus was prepared to die, prepared to experience the ultimate punishment for sin, even though he had no sin in him. 

Why? Because Jesus came to pay the price for your sin and my sin—and not just to die. What does the Bible say in verse 34 here? “And after three days, he will rise.” Yes! Jesus came, not just to pay the price for sin by dying; Jesus came to conquer sin by rising from the dead, so that you and I can not only be saved from the penalty of sin, which is death, but we can be saved from the power of sin in our lives. This is straight from God in Romans 8:1–2: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”

Do you realize what this means? For all who are in Christ, you are no longer a slave to sin. You are not a slave to anger. You’re not a slave to pride. You’re not a slave to worry, lust, impurity. You are not a slave to selfishness. You are not defeated; you are delivered. There’s a huge difference, yet so many professing Christians are living like you’re defeated. That’s not who you are; you’ve been delivered. First John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 

So the next time Satan comes to you and says, “You just can’t overcome this sin or that temptation,” you just tell him what we read in John 8:36 yesterday: “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” You are free. Jesus wants to set you free from slavery to sin. Jesus is saying these things to you. If God is speaking these things over you, then how are you going to respond? Our pastors are standing by to lead you, not just to hear this word, but to respond to what it says. 

God is saying, “I want to serve you.” So how do you need God to serve you today? God is saying, “I want to set you free from slavery to sin.” How do you need to be set free today from slavery to sin? God is saying, “I want to make you great by serving others.” So, what is that going to look like in your life this week? Let me start with a question, then I’ll give you a few moments to reflect on it, just between you and God. 

Here’s the question we’re going to start with: “How do you need God to serve you right now?” I want to give you a couple minutes to think about it, then write out how you would answer that question. Write out a prayer. “God, I need this. I need ________” You fill in the blank. 

For those of you who may be visiting or who may be exploring Christianity, I realize this is kind of new. Maybe you’re not even sure what you think about God. Or maybe you’ve lived your life not believing in God. We’re so glad you’re here; you’re welcome here any time. I would ask you to think for a moment that there is an all-powerful, all-good, just, loving, merciful God who has made you and who loves you. If that is true, how do you think you would want him to serve you? Just think through that. 

So spend a couple minutes responding to this question, then we’re going to let that lead us into prayer, asking for God’s help all together. 

God, lead this time, we pray. We ask for your Spirit’s direction as we reflect on your words, knowing that you came to serve us. Help us to humble ourselves before you as we consider how we need you to serve us right now. Amen.

What does the passage say?

1) Read Mark 10:32–45 aloud as a group and take some time to let group members share observations about the text. Don’t yet move into interpretation or application, simply share what you observe.

• What did Jesus tell his disciples was about to happen (Vv. 33–34)?
• What request did James and John make of Jesus (V. 37)?
• What was Jesus’ response (V. 38)?
• How did the other disciples respond when they heard James’ and John’s request (V. 41)?
• How did Jesus define greatness (Vv. 43–35)?

What does the passage mean?

1) Even though Jesus had just explained that he would soon endure suffering and death, the disciples still did not yet understand the nature of greatness in Christ’s kingdom.

• What might James’ and John’s question tell us about the type of kingdom they expected Jesus to establish in Jerusalem?
• What did the current rulers understand about the nature of authority and leadership (V. 42)?
• What is the contrasting picture that Jesus modeled (Vv. 43–45)?

How can we apply this passage to our lives?

1) Read Philippians 2:7. Consider the fact that Jesus Himself took on the very nature of a servant as God becoming man. Where do you personally currently need help? How do you need God to serve you right now?

2) As we become more like Jesus, our lives become less about ourselves and more about others. How is God calling you to serve others? Consider your church, your co-workers, your spouse, your neighbor, your classmates etc. Share one specific way that you can serve someone this next week.

3) In your huddles: Read Romans 8:1–2 and 1 John 4:4. What sin do you need God to set you free from? Consider this carefully and honestly. If you aren’t comfortable sharing your answer with the larger group, consider sharing with your smaller huddle. And, rejoice that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Mark 10:32-45

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.”

We are not holding back from Word-directed, Spirit-driven:

• Confession
• Intercession
• Obedience
• Proclamation
• Worship
• Family

God is saying through His Spirit according to His Word:

• I want to serve you.
• I want to make you great by making you a servant of others.
• I want to set you free from slavery to sin.

As we reflect on what God is saying, consider these three questions:

• How do you need God to serve you right now?
• What sin do you need God to set you free from?
• How is God calling you to serve others?