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30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,1 and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
(ESV)
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
And if you have a Bible, we'll be in Mark chapter 9 this afternoon. So you're flipping there to recap, or for those who have not been with us, as we've been studying through the gospel of Mark, in the last few Sundays, the last few chapters of Mark, we've seen a shift. Ever since Mark 8, when Peter said, well Jesus, you're the Christ. You're the Messiah. The one we've been waiting for.
Ford Galin:We've seen a shift as Jesus now seems to be, headed towards Jerusalem where He will be crucified. And we've seen the shift from a focus on the public ministry of Jesus, these great teachings and these, widely acclaimed miracles, to a little more private ministry of Jesus where he's spending his time really focused on his 12 disciples, as he enters into the final stage of his life before he'll be crucified. And in this time, he's been redefining the expectations of what kind of savior he is, as well as redefining then what it means to be his disciple, to be his follower. What we've seen is that to follow Christ and the savior that we have, and the kingdom that he brings is an upside down kingdom. It's paradoxical.
Ford Galin:So today we're going to enter deeper into the paradox that Jesus keeps teaching through. And as G. K. Chesterton once said, a paradox is truth standing on its head, screaming for attention. So as we see these paradoxes tonight, may we draw near and look closely, and listen closely.
Ford Galin:For these are the very words of God. If you will read with me in Mark chapter 9 verses 30 through 41. They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, the son of man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after 3 days, he will rise.
Ford Galin:But they did not understand the saying and were afraid to ask him. And they came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house, he asked them, what were you discussing on the way? But they kept silent from the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and he called the 12, and he said to them, if anyone would be first, he must be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, whoever receives one such child in my name, receives me.
Ford Galin:And whoever receives me, receives not me, but him who sent me. John said to him, teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us. But Jesus said, do not stop him. No one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For the one who is not against us is for us.
Ford Galin:For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to will by no means lose his reward. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. If you would pray with me. Father, Lord, we pray you'd be with us in these moments and you would speak for your servants who are listening.
Ford Galin:God, at best, I can only offer advice, but you can give life. So God, I pray that you would be replacing our hearts and speaking life into them, lord. God, give us open eyes, ears, and hearts to receive what you have for us. Lord, I pray that which is from you would remain, would change us. But that which is from man would be forgotten.
Ford Galin:Lord, do what only you can and speak. We pray this in the good and in the present name of Jesus. Amen. Well, I would I would ask you guys to start off this evening, what it is that you daydream about. When you're staring off at your computer screen at work, or when you lie down at night before you go to sleep, or, perhaps admittedly 20 minutes from now, when I've bored you and lost your attention, where does your mind go?
Ford Galin:You know, what is it that you fantasize about for your life? Is it the idea of you running the company and leading the meeting? Is it something about your children raising up these incredible children in this idyllic family? Is it perhaps crossing the finish line of the Boston marathon? I'm going to ask or guess that whatever it is that you truly fantasize about or daydream about, probably gives a little bit of insight into what you think a life lived in greatness would be.
Ford Galin:I know for me personally, there's 2 big fantasies that my mind quickly shifts to. And 1, I'm preaching this incredible sermon that leads to revival breaking out. The other, I'm the star point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. And I know what you're thinking, one of those 2 is probably a little bit less likely. So let's just say, if anyone here knows any NBA scouts, connection's the only thing I'm missing.
Ford Galin:And I'm not getting any younger. So let's go ahead and get the ball rolling on that one. But in all seriousness, what we daydream and fantasize about it probably shows what we think greatness would look like for us. And I start off here today, because this is actually what we see with the disciples. It's it's a rare moment of downtime in the life of a disciple, where Jesus isn't doing some big teaching.
Ford Galin:They're just walking along the way and you see where their minds go. Goes to arguing about who's the greatest. They they fantasize in their daydream about being the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And what we see is, Jesus is not actually going to to rebuke or turn down this idea of greatness. He's just going to redefine what greatness is.
Ford Galin:He's going to say that in the kingdom of heaven, greatness is paradoxical. To be first, we first must be last. To be lifted high, we first must be brought low. And to lead, we first must serve. Inside as we look at this passage, we're going to focus on 3 paradoxical shifts that I think Jesus in Mark 9 is taking us.
Ford Galin:He's going to move us from considering ourselves to be leader, to considering ourselves to be least. He's going to move us from haughtiness to humility, and he's going to move us from glory to grace. And so, with that, we dive in our passage. It starts off with Jesus once again foretelling his death and his resurrection. And to no one's surprise at this point, the disciples just don't get it.
Ford Galin:They don't understand. And this time, we read that they're actually afraid to ask him about. And why might that have been afraid? It could have something to do with the fact that the last time Jesus taught about his death, Peter tried to rebuke him and said, no. This isn't the savior we expect.
Ford Galin:You're not supposed to die. And Jesus turns and says, get behind me Satan. So maybe a little bit of fear of, you know, the Son of God calling them Satan. Fair. We'll give him that one.
Ford Galin:But I think more than that, it's what happened last time is after Jesus said he would die, he went on to say, and by the way, if anyone would come after me, they too must take off their cross and deny themselves and follow me. I think the disciples, they don't fully get it. They understand enough to know that if this Jesus, this savior, this messiah is gonna be a suffering one, one they didn't expect, it also changes what it will mean to follow him. They're starting to realize that a life lived for Christ may be a life that is pretty costly, and so they're scared to ask. So the next thing Mark shows us is not Jesus explaining this further, but it's instead Jesus asking them a question, and he says, hey, seem like you're having a lively discussion back there.
Ford Galin:What what were you discussing along the way? And again, we see the disciples silent, because they'd been discussing who was greatest among them and in the kingdom of heaven. Now, Jesus doesn't ask this because he doesn't know. He doesn't ask things to get information. He asked to wait for transformation to expose that something is wrong here.
Ford Galin:And so Jesus sits down, which is the formal posture of teaching in the day. He says, okay. If you want to know what greatness in my kingdom is, then I'll tell you. Jesus says, if anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all. So he's taking them from thinking they're these great leaders of the kingdom, to know if you want to be great, it means being least in the kingdom.
Ford Galin:So Jesus, what he's doing is, he's calling us to a life of service. He says, if you want to be great in my kingdom, it's not about pursuing some greatness or that daydream or fantasy, But it's about making your life a devotion to serving others out of love. And the service that he calls to is it's indiscriminate. It's unreciprocated. And ultimately, it actually might be unimpressive.
Ford Galin:And to the first one, it's indiscriminate. Notice that Jesus doesn't just say, if you want to be first, you have to be last. But he adds this phrase of all twice. Says, you must be least of all. You must be servant of all.
Ford Galin:All or it could also be translated everyone. What Jesus is doing is he's not giving us the freedom to pick and choose who are willing to serve or who are willing to consider ourselves less than. No, He said it's everyone, it's of all. So to ask us this question tonight, would you respond to the CEO in your company and serve the CEO in your company in the same way you would the custodial staff? When you get the message, it's a little before home group that someone needs a ride.
Ford Galin:Does it matter who texts that to determine how you respond? If it's the one you really love and have a great time with, or if it's maybe the person in home group that's a little bit tougher to talk to, and you may know who I'm thinking or who you're thinking of as I say that. Do you respond the same way? Does it matter who is asking for help? Do you treat the waiters and waitresses at your dinner table the same way those who are sitting at the dinner table with you?
Ford Galin:Jesus is saying that we don't pick and choose who we serve, but we are to serve indiscriminately, not choosing based off any evaluation we can make, but we serve simply because we are called to serve all and everyone. So it's indiscriminate. But he's also saying that he's calling us to serve in a way that is unreciprocated. And so the way we see that as Jesus continues on, he realizes the disciples probably still don't understand what he's saying, this is foreign to them. So he calls over this little child and he brings this child in front of him and he he takes this child in his arms.
Ford Galin:And he says, well, if anyone would receive a child, they would receive me. And I think we need to realize that when Jesus does this, the view and the understanding of children 2000 years ago in the Roman Empire are very different than the view we may have children today. So today, we rightly are going to rejoice and laugh and smile as we see these dedications. And in our culture today, for every good reason, we value children and view them as symbols of purity and of innocence and of joy. But it wasn't so in Jesus' day.
Ford Galin:What the world where he is doing this ministry, children were actually considered the lowest part of society. They were the bottom class of society. They were considered honestly deadweight. Surely there was family, just affection for one's own kids. But the idea of children as a whole, someone that was not your own son or daughter.
Ford Galin:Well, they had nothing to offer and they only took from the society. There was actually a proverb that Joel came across as we were preparing for these messages today, from the day that was pretty common that said, there were 4 ways for a man to waste his life. The 4 ways to waste your life in the Roman Empire. They said, were late morning sleep, drinking wine at midday, meeting in the house of the ignorant and chatting with children. So in the Roman empire, the way they view children, it's like, hey, you want to waste your life?
Ford Galin:Go get drunk or sleep through the day or hang out with the ignorant or waste your time with kids. Actually, children were viewed so negatively that the practice of infanticide, having a child that you didn't want and then just taking him or her out of the village to die from exposure was not only legal, but somewhat common. It's it's absurd and hard to get our minds around that thought. But it was actually the Christian ideal of this type of value for children that has overshaken and really transformed the society in a great way. But we need to realize that as Jesus is taking this child in his arms, he's not saying, hey.
Ford Galin:Take up this just this sweet precious little one. No. This is shocking to the disciples. And we actually might have some similar experiences with children our own day. If you want to know what I'm talking about, take your children, or if you need to, ask someone else if you can take theirs, and get a group of children and go to a nice restaurant.
Ford Galin:And look at the face of the host or hostess when you ask for a table. If you if you want to know what I'm talking about, go over to our children's building and you'll hear the word mine yelled a lot. You're never going to hear the word yours yelled out. I remember my first experience in home group at Redeemer. I hadn't spent much time with kids before I was here.
Ford Galin:I remember it was in this first home group, Richard and Annie Ketchum led it. And we were about to get into the discussion and it was going to be kind of this point. And I was so excited to be in a home group. And then Tinsley Ann Ketchum, their 2 year old absolutely blows up and has a meltdown. And then it happened every single week for the 1st 6 months I was there.
Ford Galin:And it it's nothing against Tinsley. Tinsley was just being a child, but it was so frustrating for me. It was taking our attention. It was moving us away. It was distracting, and she wasn't offering anything.
Ford Galin:And I I say that because at this point, outside of Megan, Tinsley is my favorite person at Redeemer. And I know I have some good friends in this service, I will tell you that to my face. Tinsley and Ketchum is way better than you are. No. But children, the reason Jesus picking up this child is, it's symbolic.
Ford Galin:Jesus is saying, the ones I'm calling you to serve are the ones who can't do anything in return. I don't want you to call in a way that may be reciprocated or paid back to you. I want you to serve knowing you may not get anything back. It's an unreciprocated service. And so, friends, I'd ask us today, are we more willing to serve those who will somehow scratch our backs if we scratch theirs?
Ford Galin:Are we willing to serve those who will never do anything to pay us back or who can do nothing to pay us back? In this society, children, the ones who are forgotten and left out and looked down upon and not considered, those are the very people that God is calling us to go out and to serve. And finally, Jesus is calling us to serve in ways that are unimpressive. And I mean that in 2 senses. 1st, the last example back in 41 of Jesus Gives of Service, he says, anyone who even just gives a cup of water in my name will not lose their reward.
Ford Galin:It feels so underwhelming, doesn't it? I mean, it's it's just a cup of water. I think the reason he's doing that is Jesus is showing that oftentimes our best efforts, they're not actually gonna be these notable things that are gonna give us a lot of recognition. He's he's calling us to serve in unimpressive ways. If you wanna know who God is perhaps viewing as great in the kingdom of heaven at Redeemer today, it's not Joel and I up here preaching or the worship leaders.
Ford Galin:It's the ones who are cleaning up spit up in the children's building right now. It's the ones who are going to come behind and clean the trash out of the pews. It's the guys who are parking cars in the rain this morning. Ways that otherwise wouldn't be noticed. But it's also unimpressive, because throughout our passage there's been this refrain of in Jesus name.
Ford Galin:He says, to receive a child in my name. He says that there's this person casting out demons in Jesus name. He's saying to give a cup of water in my name. And to realize that when he says in my name, that's not just saying the name of Jesus in association with what you're doing to somehow validate what you're doing. To do something in someone's name is to do it in honoring of that person and in a way that they would approve of.
Ford Galin:And I say that because I can confess there are times where I've done things, not for the sake of Christ, but for my own glory and put Jesus' name to somehow justify them. And the church has been guilty at times throughout generation and generations of some despicable things they've put Christ's name on. And so when he says to do this type of service in his name, he's not just saying, oh, and mention me when you do. He's saying, do it in a way that honors me. Mention that because it's not possible to do something for Jesus name, and at the same thing, do something for our own name.
Ford Galin:And so if our service is done to gain recognition or approval, if if it's done to impress, then we're not serving who we've been called to. Now, he's calling us to serve indiscriminately and in ways that won't be reciprocated and in ways that might not be impressive. The reality is, if you actually saw someone living out this type of service, you probably wouldn't think of them as a really great servant. The truth is, you probably wouldn't think of them at all. But imagine what it would look like if we lived in a society that actually embrace this type of mentality.
Ford Galin:I mean, I mean, just think about your own life. Think about how much better driving would be if every single person was more worried about the other cars getting where they needed to go than being there as quick as possible. You would you would come home to your yard already cut for you, and you would never go to the grocery store because people would constantly be bringing you meals. Much more than that, there would there would be no more poor anymore because needs would be met. Widows and orphans would be cared for.
Ford Galin:No one would go wanting for everyone would be seeking to serve those who had no ability to pay them back. But the question for us tonight is not what we might benefit from a society that looks like that, but how we could contribute to it. And know that there are endless opportunities to live out this type of service throughout your days. There's more examples that I could count. But, I think about the foster and adoptive parents we have at Redeemer.
Ford Galin:And the many in our community who are caring for those families. And if you're interested, there's ways we'd love to get you connected with that. I think about the men and women of Redeemer who were not just caring for children, but who were going to interfaith hospitality house and serving and preparing and sharing meals with those who were staying there. Think about a redeemer I remember I met up with a few months ago who was on his way to go meet with his boss. He worked for a real estate company, and they owned a number of apartment buildings.
Ford Galin:Who was going to meet with his boss to pitch an idea that was going to cost a little bit of money, but make a tremendous impact in just the daily lives of their hourly workers, their maintenance staff and their janitors. I can think of countless redeemer men and women who have opened up spots at their table and continually invited people into their family and to share meals. Others who otherwise might not have a family, otherwise might not even have a meal and who would never pay these things back. And so I don't know what God might be calling you to do, but realize that each of us is put in a ton of positions daily, where we can live out this type of service and kingdom of ethic. But we don't.
Ford Galin:And why not? And it leads us from the second paradox. Not just that we go from considering ourselves these great leaders to these humble servants, but Jesus is moving the disciples from haughtiness to humility. See the disciples core problem here, it's not that they're not willing to serve. There's fruit level sins and there's root level sins.
Ford Galin:If you think about a tree that continues produce bad fruit, the problem is not on the branches or the fruit. It's something down below in the roots. And then the fruits that we may see here is a lack of service. The root level sins that are at the issue is a pride in the disciples. So again, Jesus is exposing that pride to move from haughtiness to humility.
Ford Galin:And why do I say haughtiness instead of pride? Well, 95% because it started with an h, and I thought if I could do the alliteration thing as cheesy as it was, maybe you'd remember it. But more than that, pride is thinking highly of yourself. Haughtiness is thinking more highly of yourself than those around you. And that's what we see going on with the disciples.
Ford Galin:Notice they don't argue about who is great in the kingdom of God. They argues about who is greatest in the kingdom of God. And so often, this is what we do too. May I ask anyone in here a big fan of Laszlo Che? Okay.
Ford Galin:Playing into my hand was banking on that. This illustration would not have worked if anyone knew. One of the greatest swimmers in the last century, probably the pinnacle of his career, was in the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he swam in 3 races. The 200 meter fly, the 200 meter medley and the 400 meter medley. He actually set European records in every single one of those with blazing speeds.
Ford Galin:The highlight was the 400 meter medley, which he did in 4 minutes and 6.13 seconds. I can barely swim 40 feet. So that doesn't mean much to me, but no, it's really fast. So he does all this, but why have none of us heard of him? On those 3 races, Michael Phelps also swim and won the gold in each one.
Ford Galin:And while Laszlo maybe set the European records, he was bested by a couple seconds in each one. Objectively speaking, a transcendent incredible performance, but he's forgotten why. Because someone was just a little bit better. So Laszlo doesn't get his face on the Wheaties box. He doesn't get the commercial.
Ford Galin:Instead, he just has his name mispronounced by some fool down in Birmingham, Alabama, is the blunt of the sermon illustration. But we do it in our own lives too. I mean, we all nav that friend or maybe we are that friend who feels the need to one up every story just a little bit. Oh, yeah. It's great.
Ford Galin:You're traveling there. I remember when we went there, it was probably my second favorite trip. I also went to this place over here or, or you're at a party and you want to just make clear how much you know the host just a little bit better than everyone else that, oh yeah. You that's right. You all went to college together.
Ford Galin:I mean, he's been such a great guy for so long. I I actually knew him back in high school. And and then you dropped that inside joke to show that there's some special connection that everyone else isn't a part of. Our quest isn't normally to be great, it's to be greater than others. It's a haughtiness.
Ford Galin:Thinking highly of ourselves over and against those around us. And it's what we see is the problem with the disciples. It's the root of their shortcoming here. They're not content to be in the kingdom of God. They're not even content to be great in the kingdom of God.
Ford Galin:No, for them it's not enough unless they are the greatest in the kingdom of God. And this is why this type of pride and haughtiness keeps us from serving. Imagine that each of you have had a number of moments like this one. I remember last Sunday as I was leaving the last service, I walked across the office to start writing some of this sermon and I walked in the door and instantly felt or just got this whiff of a bad smell. It was clear there was some food that had rotted somewhere in the office.
Ford Galin:Thought, oh, someone should do something about that. And for a second, I was like, should I get you I gotta write this sermon and it's for the church. So you know, it's someone else surely will take care of that. It's not that we fail to serve because we don't see the importance and the need for it. It's Because we just think our time is a little bit more important or we think it's beneath us and someone else will take care of that.
Ford Galin:But the reality is I'm gonna guess it's pretty rare that God shows us a need that we can meet to go tell someone else about it. For us to be able to serve, it means embracing a humility that said, no, I'm not above this. My time is not more important. My pursuits are not more important. But I'm seeking to serve others.
Ford Galin:And we see this type of haughtiness in the disciples on two levels. 1st, there's the individual pride saying, oh, I wanna be the greatest in the kingdom. But you also see it in a corporate sense. If you look back at Mark 938, when they rebuke this man for casting out demons in Jesus name, they say they do it because he was not following us. Notice they don't stop him because he was not following Jesus.
Ford Galin:They say, no Jesus, he wasn't part of our group, our denomination. And I just mentioned this as an aside, that in the church like Redeemer, that has become a popular place here for the last decade in Birmingham, and where the Lord has done some incredible things, and we have so much to celebrate in ways that he's brought healing and redemption and reconciliation, even salvation, we should rejoice in that. I think this is a warning for us, that we don't become prideful thinking that somehow we are better than the churches that we grew up in or around Birmingham. But to have a humility to say that we have brothers and sisters throughout this city and throughout this world who are serving in Jesus name, and in no way is redeemer better than them. But we should seek to celebrate the things that God is doing there and even seek to serve and never turn our noses up just because it's not what we think we have here or in some way not as cool as what's going on at redeemer.
Ford Galin:So I mentioned that as a side, not assuming anyone in here has that struggle, but it's just a warning that it's not a trap that we can let ourselves fall into. But Jesus isn't he isn't content to let the disciples stay in this type of pridefulness. He isn't willing to let them stay in their haughtiness. It's why he asked them, well, hey, well, what was going on? Because he knows he needs to root this out if the disciples will ever live in the way that they've been called to.
Ford Galin:And what we start to see in the disciples life and throughout scripture, is the more we grow spiritually, it's not actually that we become greater, it's that we more and more see just how short we fall. You you see this demonstrating the apostle Paul's life. So Paul, who wrote the majority of the letters in the new testament, if you look at his writing, the way it progresses as he gets older, you notice a change in the way he talks about himself. The first letter that we have recorded written as Galatians, where Paul says, hey, this is coming from Paul. I'm an apostle of Jesus Christ.
Ford Galin:So hey, I'm Paul. I'm one of the 12. 1 of the, one of the designated Christians. A little bit later on in his life, in 1st Corinthians, he writes, well hey, I'm Paul, and I'm an apostle, but honestly I'm the least of the apostles and I'm worried that I'd really be called an apostle. Then by the end of his life, in 1st Timothy, you see Paul writing, 1 Paul and honestly, I'm the worst of all sinners.
Ford Galin:So you see this growth in Christ for Paul, took the form of going, well I'm one of the 12, to I shouldn't be, to really I'm the worst of all. As we grow more and more, as we get closer to Christ, it's not that we become better and better and see ourselves in greater and greater. It's that we see just how short we fall and it leads us to humility. And then that humility leads us to serve because we don't just see the great ways that we can serve, we actually realize that we're not above it. The things we're doing are not more important.
Ford Galin:The pursuits we have don't matter more. But in humility, we realize, well, here's something and I can do something about it. So it doesn't matter where I was headed. Here's something God's put before me. So he moves us from great leadership, to being the least servant, by moving us from haughtiness to humility.
Ford Galin:And seeing the disciples failure here, it actually leads us to our 3rd and final paradoxical shift, from glory to grace. Said that, there's been a section of Mark where Jesus has been redefining what it means to be or what kind of savior he is. And he's redefining what then it means to be his follower disciple. So I want you to think about the disciples in this past and who they really are. They're on the way bickering like schoolboys.
Ford Galin:They are quick to think they know things, but clearly don't get that much. They fail to grasp the things that they are taught. By the way, you'll actually see in Mark 10 when we get there, that there will be all these parents bringing children to Jesus, and the disciples don't receive them. They actually start rebuking parents for being so audacious to do that. And then, they go and argue again about who's the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Ford Galin:They just don't get it. Disciples, again and again, they're they're failing and they're bickering and they're arguing and they're slow. And the more you read the passage, the more you realize that the disciples actually are the children. Think about this. Jesus in his final days has really zoomed in and is spending so much time with these disciples, and he is getting nothing back.
Ford Galin:Yet, he doesn't leave them. He continues pressing on in the same way he received that child. What Mark 9 is trying to get us to see, is the disciples that they're arguing about being great. Truly, there's nothing great about them. And the reason Mark is doing this is for us to realize so it is with us too.
Ford Galin:Let me tell you how heartbreaking it has been this week for me, is I've tried to put this message into practice. Like, I tried that driving thing to actually just be a good driver who cared more about other cars getting there, and I have gotten so frustrated every single time. Like, I'll go 3 minutes that direction and be fuming by the time I get out of my car. Even this week, as I have sought to serve even my wife, the person I love the most in the world, I can't do so much as unload the dishwasher without begging that she would notice what I've done and say something nice to me about it. Like I, and you'll quickly see, we cannot live this out.
Ford Galin:To serve this way, this frequently, this indiscriminately and without getting anything in return or getting recognition, I'm gonna guess that by the end of tonight, you'll be frustrated because you haven't been able to do what this message is calling us to do. And if not tonight, getting to work and by 9:0:1 tomorrow morning, I can guarantee it. And why? Because we too aren't that great, but we're the children. But don't miss this.
Ford Galin:That's exactly who Jesus receives into his kingdom. As Jesus is picking up that child in his arms, it's a picture of what he's doing with the disciples and what he is offering to do with every single one of us. That we don't have anything to offer him and know his love will never be returned. He is saying, come to me and I will receive you into my kingdom. Not on the basis of what you've done, but on the basis of who I am.
Ford Galin:As Joel has said before, it's not the good who get in and the bad who get left out of the kingdom. It's those who will humble themselves before the Lord who received the kingdom and those who refuse to who end up left out. For God opposes the proud that gives grace to the humble. And so, see that this Jesus picking up this child to receive him in his arms is what is offered to you today. That is the love of our father.
Ford Galin:Know that it is a love that is indiscriminate. Does not matter what you've done or where you've been. It is offered to all who would simply humble themselves. Know that it's unreciprocated. That's why at the end of our passage, we didn't really look at it, but the very last verse says, anyone who gives a cup of water will not lose their reward.
Ford Galin:Notice, he doesn't say we'll gain their reward. He says we'll not lose their reward. Because the reward of the kingdom is given long before we could ever do anything to earn it. Because there's nothing we ever could do to earn this kingdom of God, which means there's nothing we can do to lose it either. It is given to us by grace and not because we deserve it.
Ford Galin:It is unreciprocated the way that Christ loves us, yet he does it anyway. So know that he loves us indiscriminately, and he loves us without reciprocation. But by no means is his love unimpressive. What the disciples have failed to see throughout, and why they keep becoming so bewildered, is they don't realize that in God's upside down kingdom, theology of glory, meaning the idea of greatness or what it means to be grace, is inseparable from the theology of the cross. Meaning that greatness and humble service and perhaps even suffering are inseparably linked in the kingdom of God.
Ford Galin:And so when we see Jesus' ultimate picture of love and of service, to when he goes to the cross, as the father glorifies him, and in that his name is lifted high above every name. And it's where we started our passage tonight. So this is back in Mark 931. We read the son of man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed after 3 days, he will rise.
Ford Galin:Now, this is the 3rd time in the last two chapters where Mark records Jesus explicitly sharing about his coming crucifixion and resurrection. And each time, He offers just a tiny bit more detail. He pulls back the curtain just a little bit more. And this time, it's this phrase, the son of man will be delivered. It's the first time we see it.
Ford Galin:And that phrase, it's it's actually bringing us back to a prophecy in Isaiah 53. Now the latter parts of Isaiah is all about how God is gonna come and restore and redeem his kingdom, where he's gonna make all things new, make all things right once again. And it's clear that this is going to happen through this figure of the servant throughout Isaiah. It's kind of a little bit ambiguous and as Isaiah goes on, God reveals more and more of who the servant is. But Isaiah 53 is this shocking turn, whereas we're reading these prophecies about the servant, we find out he's actually a suffering servant.
Ford Galin:Specifically, we read that it will be the will of the Lord to crush this servant. For we all like lost sheep have gone astray, but God will lay on the servant the iniquity of us all. And when we read that phrase, will be delivered, it's it's bringing us back to this prophecy. And there's two reasons that's really important and two things that shows us about this coming crucifixion for Jesus. 1st, it's showing that Jesus isn't going to be crucified merely because he frustrated the wrong people and they decided to put him to death.
Ford Galin:Now he's gonna be delivered or another phrasing of that word, another translation would be handed over. And when we read that it's gonna be the will of God to crush the servant, showing the same idea that Jesus is gonna be handed over by God to be killed. Not just it happens because he frustrates people or the world does not like him, but it is the plan of God from the beginning to give over Jesus to be crucified. And second, it says, why? Isaiah 53, it says, it happens because we all have gone astray.
Ford Galin:And the Lord is laying on him the inequity of us all, which means that the cross, the reason that God delivers and hands over Jesus is because our inequity needed to be crushed if we ever wanted to have a chance of reconciliation with God. So it's for our sin that God hands him over. And notice that this stands in stark contrast. The delivering of Jesus stands in stark contrast to the receiving of this child. God hands over his only son so that he could receive us into his kingdom as his children.
Ford Galin:Not because of anything we've done, but on the basis of his grace. Now, glad to say that the Lord has done an amazing work in my heart since my first home group. And now genuinely I was not kidding when I said the Tinsley and Ketchum is my favorite person at this church. And there's a number of Sundays when after the 11:15, it's the service the ketchums go to. I'll go and look for them.
Ford Galin:And I almost always see them as they're walking across the back parking lot on the way out. And I'll call it Tinsley, Tinsley. And, we've really, it's now been 6, 7 years that we've known each other and so she'll run over to me. And I can't help myself. I don't know why.
Ford Galin:Tinsley has never really actually done anything for me. But every time I see her torn turn towards me, I'm just filled with a joy and a love that I can't make sense of. I've been down and I hold out my arm for her to come to me. I want to know that is the Lord's posture towards you tonight. He is opening up his arms with joy and with love.
Ford Galin:Not because of anything that any of us have done to deserve it, but because he we are precious in his eyes. And he gave up his son that he could have us as children. So see here savior now with arms open, ready to receive you. And I ask, will we humble ourselves and come to him, and be received as children in his kingdom? Let us go to him now in prayer.
Ford Galin:Lord, it, it does not make sense, God, that you would take wretched sinners like us, yet receive us as children. Lord, we confess that we have nothing to offer you. Lord, we could never repay you. We confess that even the things you've told us to do, we fail at and surely are going to fail out by the end of tonight. Yet, Lord, in your mercy and in your grace still, God, you have received this into your kingdom.
Ford Galin:And so we worship you. And pray, Lord, that you would instill in us a humility that would come to you. Not on the basis of our greatness, but on the basis of your grace. God, we also pray that seeing the way you have received us would lead us to receiving others, and to serving others in ways that bring honor to your name. God, I pray for the many in here, and throughout our church who are doing much right now, to care for and receive specifically children, and serve children.
Ford Galin:I wanna pray for foster and adoptive parents, as well as communities that support them. Lord, I pray for, the many in our church who volunteer in these ways. I pray for the many who are involved in ministry, to what the world may call the least of these, or or even forget. God, I pray you would fill the those that are ministering in these ways with great joy in their service. Lord, as they serve, they would see the ways you were doing that for them.
Ford Galin:Pray for energy and endurance in these ways. And, God, I pray that for each of us, Lord, you would discern our hearts. And give us eyes to see the ways that you're calling us to to serve. I wanna pray this wouldn't happen, so that we would consider ourselves great. But to the, your name would be lifted high.
Ford Galin:In glory and in greatness as it deserves. Lord, we worship and praise you. We pray all this, in the strong and mighty and glorious name of Jesus. Amen.