Title Can You
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♡♥♡ Can you do it? / Mark 10:35-45
***Introduction
Do you have no desires? Do you have any greed or desire in any form, whether material or spiritual? Christians are people who have no worldly desires. But how many Christians today have no greed or desire? The sufferings and sufferings of Christians are those that arise from the process of throwing away the things of the world. We are trying to find a life of true victory by examining the process that appears in today's text as well.
There was an old prisoner. He grew old from going back and forth in prison all his life, and had no family or relatives. Then one day, an old prisoner meets a sparrow that flew through a small window in the prison.
He would break a piece of dry bread and give it to the sparrows. The sparrow also became friends with the old prisoner, and when he opened the window, he entered the cell. The sparrow sang as it pecked at the crumbs that the old prisoner put out from the palm of his hand. For the old prisoner, for the first time in his seventy years of life, bright days came.
However, as with all happiness in the world, his happy days did not last long. An old prisoner was transferred to an island deep in the sea. After thinking about it for a few days, the old man finally decides to take the sparrow. Every time he went out to work, he would pick up wood sticks and shavings of wire and make little mocks.
Finally, the day of transfer came, and the old man who was about to board the ship took care of the sparrow with a pitiful ridicule in his heart. But the old man's lame ridicule was shattered amid the push-and-pull congestion of rogue prisoners. The frightened sparrow flew up, but soon fell to the surface. It was because the old man cut off the sparrow's tail for fear that it would escape.
"Alas! Save that sparrow!” The old prisoner cried out, but was buried by the roaring sound of the boat, and the ship carrying the prisoner glided out of the harbor.
This is a work called 'The Old Prisoner's Love' by the French novelist 'Pierre Lottie'.
For the old prisoner, the sparrow was not a matter of whether it was a beautiful bird or not, but only the object of love. But when he tried to possess it, the love eventually vanished.
“Do not love the world or the things in it. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. The world and its lusts pass away, but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
But the problem lies in man's lust for physical possession. We also know that we must serve God, view the world as the object of the gospel, and look to the eternal hope of heaven rather than the material things of the world. Nevertheless, the human body desires what is visible and desires to enjoy it. That is why even Christians live with the word of worldly “success” in their hearts.
The people of the world build wealth, gain power, gain fame through many learnings, get ahead of their children, and so on. Everyone thinks of physical things as a concept of ‘success’. Of course, the concept of success is very subjective and can be different for each person. So, what do Christians consider to be “success”? Does a Christian have a “successful life”?
1. Christians have an obsession with success that they should let go of.
In the text, Jesus and the twelve disciples appear. Among them, ‘James’ and ‘John’ are the three disciples who were loved by Jesus. In other words, it should be kept in mind that the text is aimed at believers, especially those who are deeply religious enough to be called disciples. The Lord is emphasizing that this is a great temptation that can appear even to those who claim to be deeply religious.
Even for the twelve disciples who were called to follow Jesus, the 'successful life' was developed into a desire to 'obtain', beyond the level of taste. So, whenever they had a chance, they would fight each other for a high position. At that time, the disciples were confident that Jesus would ascend to Jerusalem and become king.
That day too, Jesus was heading to Jerusalem as the time for his crucifixion approached. But along the way, a fight broke out between the disciples. The reason is that James and John, the sons of Zebedee, made a secret request to Jesus. This is verse 37. “Give us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
However, the Gospel of Matthew records that even the mothers of James and John were mobilized. How much power would you like to have? Perhaps they have seen an opportunity to tell these stories. Then I knew there was no more time to delay. At that moment, the other disciples stood up in shock. Because they had the same thoughts.
This isn't an attachment, it's clearly a 'success obsession'. Although the Lord spoke of the substitutionary death of the cross, James and John, who did not understand the meaning of it, insisted, “It can be done.” The cruel ‘death on the cross for the substitutionary death of Jesus’ is something that no one but Jesus can bear. Nevertheless, they were not interested in what it was like for the disciples, who were so excited about their success.
“In the same way, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants, we have only done what we were supposed to do.’”
2. Christians have a victorious life to gain.
When James and John strongly said, “I can do it,” the Lord does not hesitate to ask, but teaches a successful life as a Christian. Now let's change the expression. For Christians, it is not a “successful life” but a “victory life.” It refers to the life in which the saints triumph over the world as a Christian life and as a spiritual life. 1 John 5:4-5.
“For everyone who is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Who overcomes the world except he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
As the disciples set their hearts on worldly success, Jesus teaches us what a victorious Christian life is like. In verses 43 and 44, Jesus speaks of ‘self-humility’ and ‘self-sacrifice’. In other words, he says that the person who humbles himself and serves and serves others with his hard work is the one who ultimately wins. This is the path of discipleship. And in verse 45, Jesus says so is his own life.
Let's decide one thing here.
The decision to make is the confession, “I can do it.”
James and John confessed, confidently saying, “I can do it,” without even knowing what Jesus was saying because of their desire to seize power. But let us confess what we know and are sure of. This is the confession we must make.
‘Thinking of the Lord who is taking the lead for me, I will run the path of discipleship given to me to the end and win.’
A well-used expression in the military is 'Can you do it well?' When the juniors aren't good at something, or when they first do it, the veterans give them mental education. ‘Are you good at it?’, ‘Yes, you can do it well’, ‘Can I believe it?’, ‘Yes, I can believe it.’
Can you guys win?
However, you don't have to be obsessive about how to win! Victory is already reserved for us. This is John 5:24. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” You said. Therefore, we just have to obey and follow the Lord's guidance. Whether the work is small or large, large or small, you just have to follow it with sincerity and zeal.
Elder Arthur Dimas is one of the top five Christian unemployed Americans who succeeded in management and financial resources. He was also respected for his faith. In his testimony, the secret of worldly success can be summarized as follows: He says:
“God wants his children to be successful and prosper, but they do not succeed because people do not obey God’s principles.”
He summed up his life philosophy into six points, saying that, for the sake of the Lord, making the Lord a business owner is the secret to success.
Celebrate Sunday thoroughly. Devote the first hour of the day to the Lord in prayer. Give tithes. Spend more time and more money for the Lord. Let Jesus be the master of your home. Let the Lord solve all the problems and needs of the business.
If we like the Lord, the world's 'lottery jackpot' is not a problem. Let's not snoop around in a world that doesn't matter much, rotting away the infinite power we've been given. Now, let's decide, "I can do it," and run. If we are sure of our determination, God will accept our determination and lead us to the sure path of victory.
Can you guys win?
Amen.