What You Want?

Mark 10: 35 – 45

Job 38: 1 – 7, 34 – 41

Intro:  “He who dies with the most toys, is still dead!”  I believe the basic problem today is this:   people wish to do as little as possible and to get as much as possible. / Start at the top and work their way down

I.      James and John – ambitious – wrong – failed to understand. 

A.     Verses 35 – 38 “You don’t know what you’re asking”

B.     Do what I want! --- fit into my plans --- religion on my terms, not God’s.  I want to be a consumer of religion and not a server.

C.    Prayer is always unacceptable to God when is says to God “You do whatever I want.” --- God is not our servant.

II.     Verses 38b-39 --- Confidence of James and John  -- have no idea what Jesus is talking about.

A.     We are also confused about the words of  Jesus.

B.     Cup = communion /  cup = metaphor for life and experience that God hands out to men. – Can deal with the obstacles placed in your way.

C.    Baptism = sacrament / being submerged in any experience putting self in conflict with evil and dangerous powers

III.    Verses 42 – 45 The heart of the passage – the standard of greatness in the Kingdom of God is SERVICE.

A.     Are you willing to pay the price – martyrdom?  Self-denial—denying the human demand for honor, power and status.

B.     Costs – escape from the prison of self, childlike trust in God, losing of self to a greater cause – life doesn’t spin around you. You are not the center of the universe.

C.    Job’s greatness in comparison to God’s greatness.

Conclusion – Each of us has an inner desire to go beyond success to significance.  We want our lives to mean something and make a difference.  If that is your desire, you must become a candle.   A candle sheds light for others and in the process consumes itself.  When our lives become candles, we leave a legacy.  What does your candle look like?  How much light, if any does it shine? 

Gaither E Bailey