November 21, 2021
Morning Service

Last week each of us received a “wake up call” to examine ourselves in our spiritual mirrors and be sure that God was first in our lives and we had no other gods before Him.  The world has a way of creeping in slowly and before we know it, we have conformed to its standard and allowed something else to become first place in our list of priorities.  I hope each of us were not only hearing the call to repentance and priority reset, but we took action making some changes for the better.  God is calling His church to get their priorities set straight, hear His call and have the courage and resolve to obey.  Along our journey with Jesus as the 13^th disciple, today we have two encounters with people coming to our Master with requests.  First however, Jesus for the third time revisits what the future holds.

Mat 20:17-19 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, (18) "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, (19) and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again."

            Jesus continues to be honest and transparent with what the future holds.  This scenario He describes begins next week with the Triumphal Entry.  We, as the disciples, still are not grasping the harsh reality of what our Lord is prophesying. The first request comes again over the disciples each striving to be great in the coming kingdom and showing they do not understand His former teachings on this subject.

 

Mat 20:20-21 Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  (21)  And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."

            Their mother came with an attitude of respect, as she knelt before Him, but she came with a specific purpose, request or wish.  She wanted Jesus to grant that her two sons, who were already promised to sit upon thrones (19:28), to be next in command after Him.  She as a parent naturally wants her children to be promoted and honored, but a desire like this can be dangerous and contradicts the exact thing Jesus spoke against in the previous chapter. “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (19:30) We must remember we are following Him and He chooses the direction that we go, not us.  Be careful in what you wish for as Jesus now explains.

 

Mat 20:22-24 But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They said to Him, "We are able."  (23)  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  (24)  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.

            The cup and baptism Jesus speaks of is the very thing He just discussed with them for the third time.  He would endure great suffering, persecution and give His life upon the cross.  The two brothers failed to understand that they were being called to the same fate.  James would be the first of the apostles to be martyred with the sword (Acts 12) and John would endure a long life of suffering including being exiled alone on an island.  I don’t believe at this point they really knew what they were signing up for.  They may have been still clinging to the hope that Jesus would set up His kingdom now and they would be rulers in it.  Both did faithfully serve their Master well, but not in the capacity that they had hoped.  As we look forward into time for ourselves or for our children, what do we wish for?  As we discussed last week, the world creeps in upon us and it seems our goals become the goals of the world; to be wealthy, successful and happy.  That may not be the call God has for your life or for the life of your children.  What would be your reaction if your teen age child came to you and said “college is not for me, I want to go to Africa and minister to orphans.” Examine your goals for yourself and your children and be sure they are not selfish goals that dictate to God what you want to happen, not yielding to His will.  Whatever the path, the motivating factor needs to be that we are following Jesus, not our own desires.  There is nothing wrong with being ambitious and inventive, but be sure you identify the motivation for the path you choose.  Think of King David, whose heart cried out for God, and be content being a doorkeeper in the temple of God if that is what He calls you to.  Jesus now explains that true leadership comes with the heart of a servant.

 

Mat 20:25-28 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  (26)  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  (27)  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— (28) just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

            Leadership is being given a whole new meaning from Jesus’ perspective.  The world’s view of leadership uses people to attain their goal, but Jesus shows true leadership comes from serving people.  A true leader sees the value of the people around him and realizes that his goal is about making them better.  A leader will have the heart of a servant and will not be above doing any job.  If he sees something that needs done, he does it with an attitude of servitude and sacrifice.  The greatest leader of all time displays this in a small way later in our journey as He washes the feet of the disciples and magnifies it even greater as He gives His life upon the cross for us.  Our leader gave His all for us His followers and simply asks us to do the same.  Examine your desire to be first, and be sure it lines up with this teaching.  We will now finish with a second request brought to Jesus.

 

Mat 20:29-32Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.  (30)  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  (31)  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  (32)  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"

            Do you find it strange that He asks this question?  The scriptures are full of instructions that we are to come to God and make our requests known to Him.

 

Php. 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

            Notice that the requests need to be made with the proper attitude.  Asking in supplication means we come asking earnestly and humbly while also being thankful for all that has already been given.  But we are commanded to make our requests known to our Lord who hears us.  These blind men let their request known here as they cried out to the Messiah.

 

Mat 20:33-34 They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  (34)  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

            When we come to God and make our requests known to Him in the right attitude and for the right reasons, know that He hears us.  He is often able to grant your request as He performed the miracle here for these men, but know as we come we are seeking His will to be done not ours.  Paul sought healing from a “thorn in the flesh” three times, but the Lord said “My grace is sufficient.”  Perhaps it is God’s plan to use your “thorn in the flesh” for His glory.  Many times we view our suffering as a punishment from the Lord, but it may simply be a tool He is using in our life to keep our eyes on Him or create a ministry for us to help others who suffer as we do.  Jesus calls us to follow Him in order that He can use us to fulfill His will and build His kingdom.  We can easily lose sight of this and think that life is all about us.  Remember the instructions we received just a short time ago about this:

 

Mat 16:24-26 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  (25)  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  (26)  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

            Let’s step in front of our spiritual mirror again and this time examine our prayer lives.  If you have a need, ask, seek and knock and the Lord will answer.  What do we wish for?  Are we first seeking an easier life for ourselves, or seeking to be in God’s will?  God desires your heart, your inner motivation for what you do, not just your actions.  Let your prayer life reflect our surrender to His will as well as our outward actions.  Jesus has made it very clear with this command that we must learn to deny ourselves, take up our cross (whatever that is) and follow Him.

 

Heavenly Father, we come this morning bringing our heart and our will and laying them upon the altar.  Help us through the power of the Holy Spirit to desire to deny ourselves and follow You.