The Temptations: Pride
3 of 4
Mark 10:35-41
September 9, 2001 F.B.C. Chester, Illinois Mike Fogerson, Speaker
1. Introduction
A. The lion was proud of his mastery of the animal kingdom. One day he decided to make sure all the other animals knew he was the king of the jungle. He was so confident that he by-passed the smaller animals and went straight to the bear.
a. "Who is the king of the jungle?" the lion asked. The bear replied, "Why you are, of course" The lion gave a mighty roar of approval. Next he asked the tiger,
b. "Who is the king of the jungle?" The tiger quickly responded, "Everyone knows that you are, mighty lion " Next on the list was the elephant.
B. The lion faced the elephant and addressed his question, "Who is the king of the jungle?"
a. The elephant immediately grabbed the lion with his trunk, whirled him around in the air five or six times and slammed him into a tree. Then he pounded him onto the ground several times, dunked him under water in a nearby lake, and finally dumped him out on the shore.
b. The lion--beaten, bruised, and battered--struggled to his feet. He looked at the elephant through sad and bloody eyes and said, "Look, just because you don’t know the answer is no reason for to get mean about it!"
2. We are continuing our look at The Temptations with a message entitled Pride.
B. Our text is Mark 10:35-45
a. [35] Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask." 36 "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked. 37 They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory." 38 "You don’t know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" 39 "We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, [40] but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared."
41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. [42] 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. [43] Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, [44] and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. [45] 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."
b. Jesus told His disciples where to go. ETS
B. Christians don’t think less of themselves, they just think of themselves less. ESS
a. I hope you will surrender your pride. Objective
b. Where are you going to sit? Probing Question
T.S.: William Shakespear said, "The whole world is a stage and the men and women are merely players." Let’s look at two seats we can chose to sit in at this production.
I. Pride makes us sit in the seats that are front and center.
A. Ever since James (Jim) and John heard Jesus say Matthew 19:28, they really wanted to have front row seats close to the aisle.
"Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." -Matthew 19:28
a. "Let us sit on the right and left" asked Jim and John.
*Right was the #1 position (Last weeks sermon) Left was the #2 position.
*Places of honor, prestige, recognition...Jim & John are saying, "We deserve those spots!"
b. Do you think James & John expected Jesus to say "Yes"? (I do.)
*Why didn’t Jesus promise Jim & John the #1 & #2 spots?
Two Reasons:
1 Jesus knew His place in trinity.
Jesus said "That’s Dad’s job to make up the seating arrangement. I’m just the groom." (Not lesser, just different)
2 Jesus doesn’t make promises He can’t keep.
B. Have you ever felt like you deserve..... more...better?
(I’m a good moral person. I’m a good provider for my family. I’m in church nearly every Sunday. I feel guilty when the pastor preaches. I deserve....more...better? Why do you think men/women have mid-life crises?)
a. vv:37 "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your GLORY."
*When we are exposed to God’s glory, we see how little we have to be proud of.
*God’s glory shows us what God intended for us to be. (Perfect, Holy, Just, Righteous, Sinless.....)
b. Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the GLORY of God"
*Although God intended for us to be perfect....We Blew It!
*No matter how much we think we deserve or how much better we deserve, it’s nothing compared to what God deserves from us and we will never deliver.
*Pride say’s go to the front and center.....God says no.
C. An ancient Indonesian parable tells of a turtle who flew through the air by biting hard on a stick that was carried by two geese.
a. The turtle was enjoying his flight, but when he heard what the onlookers from the ground were saying, he became troubled. The onlookers were saying, "Aren’t those geese clever for holding that turtle in the air. Their brilliant!"
b. The turtle felt he was the one that deserved the attention and praise so he opend his mouth and shouted, "This was my Idea!"
*Prov. 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."
T.S.:God is against pride’s seating request.
II God makes us sit in the seats that are in the back row with obstructed view.
(In vv:41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. How do you think the disciples heard about James and Johns request? I believe Jim and John. I can hear them say, "Jesus said if it were up to Him we’d (James/john) would have the #1 & #2 spots, but He said it wasn’t up to Him.")
A Jesus put out the fire that was burning with the other ten disciples by telling them what to do with their pride.
(By the way, why were they angry? Don’t you think a few of them thought they deserved those #1 & #2 slots?) James and John didn’t corner the market on pride.
a. Jesus said, "Who ever wants to great must be your servant."
*Diakonos: Running in the dust, working, minister, deacon. You work for whats best for other people. Servants had wills/rights.
b. Jesus said, "Whoever wants to be first, must be a slave to all."
*Slave is different than servant. Slaves had no rights or will. Their only purpose for existing was to serve their master. They put his will/rights first.
B The reason we sit in the last row with obstructed view is because God wants us to take our eyes off ourselves.
a. If all we see ourselves and ourselves first, we can’t serve God in the way He wants us to.
*Pride Gets In The Way!!!
*If you want to have it all, you have to give it all.
*(Salvation by works...NO! If you have salvation you will work!)
b. James and John were great workers for Christ and they expected to be honored at sometime. Apparently that’s a wrong way to look a this.
*We do the work and expect not to be honored. We do because all we can see is pleasing Jesus. Our eyes are on him and him first.
C During the days when Mohammed Ali was a great boxer, he would go around in his arrogance and say that, "He was the greatest." Humility was never his strong suit. One day, back in his prime, he was on an airplane and the plane was ready to take off and the flight attendant had repeatedly told him to put on his seat belt.
a He finally told her, "I’m superman and superman don’t need no seatbelt." The flight attendant didn’t hesitate a minute but shot back with, "Superman don’t need no airplane either, now buckle up."
b God is telling us, "Don’t strive to be Superman/woman. Strive to be servants/slaves"
Conclusion:
1. It’s difficult to think of ourselves as lowly slaves. Christians don’t think less of themselves, they just think of themselves less. (ESS)
A. We’ve looked at two seats that we can chose to sit in. a Front and Center: We look at for ourselves, we want more...better....we deserve it.
b Rear w/ obstructed view: Last in line and our vision is obstructed. We have a hard time seeing us.
B I hope you will surrender your pride. (Objective)
a We can either take seats in the front & center or seats in the rear w/ obstructed view.
b We can’t be in both places simultaneously.
2. Where are you going to sit? (Probing Question)
A Martin Luther wrote about seeing two mountain goats meeting on a mountain trial that was narrow enough for only one to travel on.
a When they met up, Luther thought for sure they would but heads and the strongest would survive. One would die and one would be injured.
b Instead. When the mountain goats met, one laid down and let the other walk over him so they both could live.
*It’s this selflessness that Jesus is telling us to take as Christians.
B Where are you going to sit?
a Some of you need to change your seats today. I hope you’ll do it.
b Pray.
