second message: The Heart and Soul of Christianity

 

Scriptures: Mark 10:35-44; John 13:12-15; Matthew 25:31-46

 

Introduction

 

Last week our brother Clifford preached on the topic “Giving: The heart and soul of Christianity”. Today we will be looking and the second sermon on the same topic. You can understand why giving is the heart and soul of our faith. If we are not giving then we are like dead Christians and when you are dead you don’t exist. Those who have not learned generosity are just church goers, they don’t yet understand true Christianity. If giving is the heart of Christianity; then stop giving and Christianity will die. We saw that Giving begins with a cause

Giving entails a sacrifice

Giving leads to life

Giving produces joy

Now we just read about the request of James and John. They mad a very boundless request to their master (to do to them whatever they will desire) rather than asking him to do to them as he deems fit (Eph 3:20).

Worldly honour is so glittering that the disciples of Christ have also been dazzled (amazed) with it. Whereas to be good should be more our care than to look great, or to have the pre-eminence. The disciples became angry with James and John not because they affected precedency, but because they had the same ambitions. Jesus took this opportunity to teach them the heart of Christianity. Jesus showed them that;

1.    Dominion was generally abused in the world mark 10:42

2.    That it ought not to be accepted into the church and Christianity. It shall not be so among you…

Illus: The late Dawson Trotman, founder of The Navigators, was visiting Taiwan on one of his overseas trips. During the visit he hiked with a Taiwanese pastor back into one of the mountain villages to meet with some of the national Christians. The roads and trails were wet, and their shoes became muddy. Later, someone asked this Taiwanese pastor what he remembered most about Dawson Trotman. Without hesitation the man replied, "He cleaned my shoes."

 

How surprised this humble national pastor must have been to arise the next morning and realize that the Christian leader from America had arisen before him and cleaned the mud from his shoes. Such a spirit of servanthood marked Dawson Trotman throughout his Christian life. He died as he lived, giving his life to rescue someone else from drowning.

 

Service, in the vocabulary of the world, is often synonymous with duty, a necessary activity. And to many in our hypersensitive society the label "servant" is offensive. To them it would mean belonging to a lower class of people. They would think it demeaned their status in life, marked them as "common people." Consequently, it was to be avoided at all costs.

 

I. Jesus taught service

 

Not so with Jesus. Jesus Christ, the King of kings, came to serve. Serving others is giving; you are giving yourself, giving your time, giving your money, giving your energy, giving your talent, giving…giving. That is servanthood.  For Jesus, service was not a peripheral issue, not just a florescent sign splashing half -truth in a window of self-indulgence. When it came to service, he meant business. Because it is the heart of His ministry. Know that giving is the heart and soul of Christianity. It was near the end of Jesus' ministry. He and the twelve disciples were on the wandering journey to Jerusalem that would end in a few days with Jesus' Crucifixion. On the roadside, James and John came up to Jesus with a private, surreptitious (clandestine) request (Mark 10:35- 37).

What they wanted was rather clear. They knew many people were saying that Jesus was the Messiah who, like David, would be a great military commander and would drive out Israel's enemies (the Romans), and restore Israel to greatness. They suspected that, at Jerusalem, Jesus would start the revolution, stir up the thousands of pilgrims, and begin the war. They expected Jesus to win, and they wanted to have the two chief positions in His new government after the Romans were driven out. They wanted to be the secretary of state and secretary of defense in Jesus' new cabinet. Today we have men and women like that, we don’t care about ministry but what we care about is our position. Will I be deacon or leader in that ministry? Will I be this or that? We don’t look at the big picture.

 

Jesus seems to have been disappointed and frustrated with them. "You don't know what you're asking," He said. He was referring to the fact that His close associates likely would die the same kind of death He would face in a few days. But they didn't understand what He meant. Jesus said, "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" (Mark 10:40, NIV).

When the other ten disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were furious, maybe because the brothers had beaten them to it! So the twelve disciples, having been with Jesus three years, near the end in Jerusalem, were arguing over who was the greatest. Jesus called them and spoke (Mark 10:42-44, NIV). "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it 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."

 

 Do you want to be great in God’s house? You must be servant; that kind of servant who get’s up on Sunday morning and the priority is to be in God’s house, That kind of servant who will be there at the first hour to clean the benches and to pray, that servant who wants to prepare the atmosphere for others to come and get an encounter with God. Not that kind who comes when he or she wants and at the time they want but at God’s appointed time. The paradigm has changed! The disciples must have felt as if they had been slapped in the face. Some must have looked at Jesus as if He were the one who didn't get it. What were James and John thinking?

 

Without doubt, it was one of Jesus' most radical statements. It was revolutionary because it turned the values and advice of the world completely upside down. The world measures greatness in terms of size, power, and authority; in the Kingdom of God, greatness is measured in terms of service. Though we value power and prestige, God values the heart of a servant.

 

II. Jesus modeled service

 

As though His statement about radical serving was not enough, the night before He was crucified Jesus modeled, once again, servanthood. It was Thursday night of Passover Week. Later that night He would be arrested and begin the dizzying round of trials before the Jewish high court, Caiphas, Annas, Herod, and Pilate. Before sundown the next day, He would be dead.

 

He knew that the time of His death had come. That made the celebration of the Passover Meal with His disciples all the more touching. It would be their last meal together, the last real time to talk with them and teach them. We call this meal on Thursday night the Last Supper.

 

During the meal, as the twelve disciples lounged on cushions around the low table, Jesus stood up, took off his cloak, and tied up his long gown with a towel. He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet and dry them with the towel. When He came to the impetuous (impulsive) Simon Peter, the disciple at first refused to let Jesus wash his feet. But then he relented. Slowly, around the table Jesus went, until He had washed all their feet. The place must have been silent; the disciples had never seen Jesus do this.

 

When he finished, He put His cloak back on and sat down at His place. He told them He had set an example that they should do as He had done for them (John 13:12-15).

 

What did Jesus mean that they should do as He had done? Some groups take His words at face value and periodically have foot-washing services. But these people know that there was much more to Jesus' words than an order simply to mimic His action. And the disciples would have seen clearly what He meant. He had acted out for them a basic truth of Christianity. The job of washing feet is a filthy job. People didn't bathe very often and they wore no shoes, or only sandals. People's feet were dirty and smelly, and it was a demeaning job to have to wash them. In fact, the job was usually dumped on the lowliest servant in the household. Washing feet was a lowly act of service to one's betters. And that is what Jesus was acting out to His disciples. He voluntarily took the lowly position, the position of lowest status and prestige. He put aside His due rank and privilege and became the lowly one. He

would complete the lesson the next day when He submitted and died on the cross to redeem humanity. He, the mighty God in human flesh, allowing His opponents to kill Him, in order to buy our forgiveness. He took the lowly place. And as He washed their feet, He drove home the point He had made a few days before on the road to Jerusalem as the disciples argued over who was the greatest: greatness in the kingdom of God is marked by being a servant.

 

III. Jesus judges service

 

Jesus taught about service, He modeled service, and He said that the basis of judgment will be whether we have been servants or not. One of the most disturbing passages in the New Testament is Matthew 25:31-46. It is Jesus' description of the final judgment, sometimes called the "Sheep and Goat Judgment." Jesus said that when He returns in glory in the Second Coming, He will sit on His throne and pass judgment on the people of the earth. He will divide like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. This is a disturbing passage theologically because Jesus said that the basis of the judgment will be whether we have been servants, whether we have helped the needy. We don't like to hear this, because we think our actions or works have nothing to do with our salvation. And other parts of Scripture make it clear that they don't. So, what is Jesus saying here? Could it be that

those with real faith, those who truly know God and will go to heaven, will see servanthood develop in their lives? Can He be saying that those who believe will be servants? What good is it to say that we believe in Christ but have no evidence in our lives to prove it? If we have faith, it will show in how we live. Good works don't save us; they prove that we are saved.

 

But Jesus' words about judgment disturb us for a more personal reason - that many aren't comfortable being servants. We would rather hear that the evidence of real, saving faith is that we go to a lot of church meetings, because we can do that. Or that one is intellectually convinced that Christianity is true, because we are convinced of it. We don't want to hear about service, because we don't always choose to serve.

 

After a surgery performed by an American missionary doctor, perspiration ran on the doctor's forehead; his eyes were glassy, his lips almost purple from unrelenting strain. His hands began to tremble with fatigue. "How much would you have gotten for this operation in the States?" the physician was asked. "Quite a lot," said the physician, "it was a complicated procedure."

 

"How much will you get for this here?" The doctor looked at the poor Korean woman who had come to him with only a coin in her hand. She had asked for help in the name of Christ. Tears welled up in the doctor's eyes, and with choking voice he said, "Well, for this I will get nothing but her gratitude and my Master's smile. But that, sir, is worth more than all the plaudits and money the world can give."

 

The distinction that will then be made between the precious and the vile He shall separate them one from another, as the tares and wheat are separated at the harvest, the good fish and the bad at the shore, the corn and chaff in the floor. Wicked and godly here dwell together in the same kingdoms, cities, churches, families, and are not certainly distinguishable one from another such are the infirmities of saints, such the hypocrisies of sinners, and one event to both: but in that day they will be separated, and parted for ever Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, Malachi 3:18. They cannot separate themselves one from another in this world (1 Corinthians 5:10), nor can any one else separate them (Matthew 13:29) but the Lord knows them that are his, and he can separate them. This separation will be so exact, that the most inconsiderable saints shall not be lost in the crowd of sinners, nor the most plausible sinner hid in the crowd of saints (Psalms 1:5), but every one shall go to his own place. This is compared to a shepherd's dividing between the sheep and the goats it is taken from Ezekiel 34:17, Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle. Note, 1. Jesus Christ is the great Shepherd he now feeds his flock like a shepherd, and will shortly distinguish between those that are his, and those that are not, as Laban divided his sheep from Jacob's, and set three days' journey between them, Genesis 30:35,36. 2. The godly are like sheep--innocent, mild, patient, useful: the wicked are like goats, a baser kind of animal, unsavoury and unruly. The sheep and goats are here feeding all day in the same pasture, but will be coted at night in different folds. Being thus divided, he will set the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left, Matthew 25:33. Christ puts honour upon the godly, as we show respect to those we set on our right hand but the wicked shall rise to everlasting shame, Daniel 12:2. It is not said that he shall put the rich on his right hand, and the poor on his left the learned and noble on his right hand, and unlearned and despised on his left but the godly on his right hand, and the wicked on his left. All other divisions and subdivisions will then be abolished but the great distinction of men into saints and sinners, sanctified and unsanctified, will remain for ever, and men's eternal state will be determined by it. The wicked took up with left-handed blessings, riches and honour, and so shall their doom be.