Sermon Tone Analysis
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*Inscription: Writing God’s Words on Our Hearts & Minds*
*/Part 36: Serve or Be Served?
/*
*Mark 10:35-45*
*/October 17, 2010/*
* *
*Prep: *
· Leftovers (p.
1), 081
*Scripture reading: Mark 10:35-45 (erin)*
Intro
· Membership sermon in two weeks – refresh mission and see new vision).
Prayer
A Christian boss?
Q How many of you knew that I worked at *McDonald’s*?
Q That I was a *manager*?
I had to be – I spent so much time *razing* other teens who worked there that I had to do something to show that I was different.
It turned out to be a lot harder than I thought – it wasn’t just *telling* *people* what to do and getting *free* *food* whenever I wanted.
I wasn’t very good at working with the employees, and had some really good guys *quit* *because* of *me*...
After I left, what bothered me more than anything was that I didn’t know how to be a *Christian* *manager*.
Put another way, I had no idea how to “*serve*, *not* *be* *served*.”
· Funny thing was that years later, I was a *better* manager when I was a *crew* *member*.
Some of you know what I am talking about, you have some *authority* – a *boss*, an *owner*, have *unofficial* *authority*.
You are not sure how to *infuse* your *relationship* with Jesus into that.
· It is just too easy to think like the world, that “*in* *charge*” means “*people* *serve* me.”
You’re so selfish!
That’s the problem our boys James and John had:
*Mark 10:35-37, 41 * Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him.
“Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”*
...* When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.
Gotta admire their pluck: I want to be #1 in the universe, but you’d settle for #2.
We may be *more* *subtle*, but I don’t think we are any *less* *self*-*serving*.
· You and I live in and participate in one of the most *self*-*centered*, *self*-*serving* *societies* known to man.
I read a lot, including *history* and I’ve also *traveled* a fair deal, and I’ve seen how bad we are compared to the world.
· The good news is that thanks to *American* *influences*, the rest of the world is catching up.
EG: *Mélodie* and *Costco*.
Entitlement
At our *prayer* *meeting* on Monday, I was talking about this sermon and the conversation naturally shifted to talking about our culture’s *entitlement* *mindset*.
This is a term that has been brought into the mainstream by *conservatives* critiquing the welfare system.
But it’s one thing to say that all those people on welfare feel entitled to government money, blah blah blah.
· I know we all have *stories* about people expecting the government to take care of them and all that.
But I am far more interested in *our* *entitlement* *mentality*.
Even if you have *never* taken a cent of public money, you still are part of the *entitlement* *nation*.
Q What does entitlement mean?
· The belief that I have the right to be *served*.
We think it’s our God given right – *life*, *liberty*, the *pursuit* of happiness, and to be *served*.
Q You *don’t* *believe* *me, *do you?
Let’s say you’re at your *favorite* *restaurant* and you want them to put cheese on your fries, that’s all nothing big.
They say no, you ask why, they say because the cooks won’t do it.
You can feel this holy *indignation* rising up in you, “Don’t they know who I am?!?
I am not just a *customer*, I am a *Regular*!
I am a *god* among them!
How dare they refuse my reasonable request!
Q What does this say about me?
That I am an *American*!
Go to *Central* *America* and start demanding your rights as a customer, and they will look at you like you have a *third* *eye*.
There it is “You get what you *get* and you don’t throw a *fit*!”
Q What are some *other* *ways* that we assume we deserve to served?
· *Church*: I’m *entitled* to be taken care of every Sunday and I’ll *whine* if I’m not (this is like “*consumer* vs. *participant*”).
· At *school*: Demanding that they *raise* (not just teach) our kids and *blame* the school for our *kids’* *failure*.
“How dare you give my kid an “*F*”!
· *Marriage*: We’ve bought the lie that it’s our *right* to be *happy*, for our husband to be *romantic* or our wife to always *satisfy* us *sexually*, and if they *don’t* we can *look* *around*.
We think that as a *taxpayer*, as a paying *customer*, as an *American*, as a *husband* or *wife*, we have the *right* to be served.
Even if you do *legally*, to demand it *violates* Jesus’ words.
Q If you were to take *Jesus* out for *dinner*, and they messed up the order, would you demand to see the *manger* and get a *comp*?
Am I saying that you *can’t* *complain* about poor *service*, address *failures*?
No, but only if you can do it in a *manner* that is *not* *demanding* of rights and *glorifies* God.
· *Better* to be *wronged* than drag God’s name through the mud.
Serve to be served?
But some of you are sitting here, and you know that does *not* *describe* you, you are *not* *demanding*.
Your friends describe you as having a *servant’s* *heart*.
It’s *your* *turn*!
· One of the most *subtle* ways you can *demand* to be *served* is by *serving* others.
And *subtle* means *dangerous* – you can be convinced that you are being *giving* while you are being actually being *demanding*.
We might fool *ourselves*, we might even fool *others*.
Q *Do* *you* serve in order to be served?
Here is the *test*: *Why* do you serve?
What are you *hoping* to get in *return*?
And here’s the *correction* *key* on the back of the test (to see if you are being honest in your answer):
Q How do you respond when your *gift* or *service* doesn’t get what you *hoped* for?
· Story of *volunteer* throwing a *fit* because she wasn’t recognized – she wasn’t doing it for Jesus!
It’s not wrong to *enjoy* *recognition* or *praise*; that’s fine (if you say “it’s *just* *Jesus*,” I’ll *punch* you).
It’s wrong to *demand* it.
Serve to control
What is even worse than serving for recognition, some of you serve to *control* *others* and to control the *situation*.
You want things to work the way you want them to work:
· That is either 1) *Manipulation* or 2) *Enabling*, and both of them are *being served*.
*Manipulation* is serving other so they are *obligated* to *serve* you *back*: I will *babysit* your kids so you have to babysit mine.
I will *help* you on your *house* so that you will help on mine.
· *Marriage* is one of the most common places for this.
There is nothing wrong with having a *cooperative*, the problem is when we want *credit* for *serving* too.
*Enabling* is where you serve the other person by allowing them to *wallow* in their *sin*, their *laziness*, *irresponsibility*, their *substance* *abuse*, their anger, etc.
· But that is *not* *serving* them, you don’t do it for *their* *sake*, you do it for *yours* – serving means *stopping* the *dependency*.
And what are you getting in *return*?
Avoiding *conflict*, being the *martyr*, creating *obligation*, maintaining the *status* *quo*.
Let me state it very *clearly* – serving in *order* *to* be *served* is not the serving Jesus meant.
It counts as a *big* *fat* *zero* in the whole “the first shall be last.”
It is *no* *better* than *egomaniac* who demands that everyone serve him.
God should serve me!
I’ve talked about entitlement and about “being a servant” to be served.
But this is *small* *change* compared to the most *obnoxious* way we demonstrate that we think we deserve to be served.
I want us to look at a *familiar* *passage* and see how corrupted our entitlement viewpoint is:
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