I was invited to an elementary school to answer Bible questions from the kids. And I love it when kids ask Bible questions because who knows what they're going to ask. Of course, my favorite time I ever got to go to an elementary school was when my daughter, Emma Jane Blakey, invited me to her class a few years ago. But I gave every one of the kids in her class a Compass Bible Church pen, and immediately they all started going like this (clicking continually), and I realized I had made a big mistake. And they started asking crazy questions. We got on to marriage and wedding ceremonies, and somehow I said in the classroom, “You're no longer two, but one, you may kiss your bride.” All the kids are like, “Marriage is disgusting. Ewe, gross. I don't want to kiss anybody.” And then Emma, like her face gets so focused, and she says, “You guys, being a pastor is very serious business.” And that's when I knew Emma Jane had my back from that day on. And so, this week, when I got to go to the classroom, one of the questions was, “What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus?” And I was like, wow, that's a great question, because we're sinners, and our sin separates us from God, because he is holy. And so, back in the day at the tabernacle or the temple, you had to have a sacrifice to atone for your sins. You had to have a priest mediating between God and you. And Jesus, he is the sacrifice who died for our sins on the cross. And when Jesus died on that cross, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom, because Jesus is our high priest who brings us right into the presence of God, so I can't just go pray in his name? No, the only way I can go before a holy God is in the name of Jesus. And this girl seemed like really excited about that answer.
And I'm here to talk to you today about going into the classroom with Jesus. Okay? Jesus is teaching his disciples. He's sitting down, which is the posture that I'm about to say something. He's got the twelve around him, and he's now going to say to his disciples things he wants them to know about following Jesus. So, I don't want you to think about this like another Sunday at church. I don't want you to think we're just sitting here in some auditorium and you're going to listen to me. No, we're going to go sit down in a house in Capernaum. We're going to sit at the feet of Jesus, and Jesus is going to teach his disciples how he wants them to live. And so, everybody, grab your Bible and go to Mark, chapter 9, and let's look where we left off at verse 36. We'll go from 36 to 41 because we left off at verse 35 last week. So, we're just picking it right up. If you don't have a Bible, there's a handout there in your bulletin that has these verses printed for you, so you can follow along as we read again. The context is in this house in Capernaum, Jesus and the twelve disciples, he sat down. He just told them, if you want to be first, you must be last. You need to be the servant of all, and now he's going to continue his teaching. So, out of respect for God's Word, I invite everyone to stand up for the public reading of Scripture, and I encourage you listen to what Jesus says. What Jesus says here may not be what you think, and you're going to have to decide when you leave here today, who's right, you or Jesus. Please follow along as I read in Mark 9:36-41.
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, 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, for 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. 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.”
That's the reading of God's Word. Please go ahead, grab your seat. And if you do have one of these pens, I would love for you to take it out and take some notes on the teaching here of Jesus, if you’ve got a pen, let me know. Does anybody have a pen? Is anybody out there taking notes? Right? (Much clicking) Oh, that sounds actually nice. I like that because here's what I want you to do with that pen. Can you underline there in verse 37 where he says “in my name,” it's right after “child”. I think that a lot of people, when they read through this passage, they might think it's talking about different things, but there's clearly one thing we're talking about. We're talking about people who come to us in the name of Jesus. In fact, we might even say here on a Sunday morning at church that we're gathered together in what, everybody? In the name of Jesus. And so maybe some brothers and sisters who aren't normally with us, fellow Christians, have gathered here with us today. Maybe there are some who aren't yet Christians, but they want to learn about the way of Jesus, and they're gathering with us today.
So, if somebody claims to be a Christian, if they say they're following Jesus, then they're going in the name of Jesus. And so, he's talking about how you would receive someone. He's using a child as an example, and you would receive them in my name, and because he says “in my name,” John says in verse 38, oh yeah, we saw someone casting out demons in your name. Underline that there in verse 38 where John's like, oh yeah, I know somebody who was doing something “in your name,” Jesus; this guy was casting out demons, and we told him to stop. And Jesus is like, don't stop him. Verse 39, “For no one who does a mighty work.” Underline it again “in my name.” So, we're talking about people coming to us in the name of Jesus, other people who are out there ministering in the name of Jesus. And then here's what you can't see in English. Look down in verse 41 where it says, “Because you belong to Christ,” will you underline “you belong to Christ”? Because in the Greek it's like “your name,” or “in the name of Christ,” or “your name is now of Christ.” So, they translated it, “you belong to Christ,” because the point there is your association with Jesus. But in the Greek, it's the same word for “name” there in verse 41.
So, people are going to come to us in the name of Jesus. Other people are going to be ministering in the name of Jesus. And whatever you do for someone, if you serve someone because they're with Jesus, you will by no means lose your reward. You will get your wages if you serve the people of Jesus, because here's what Jesus wants to teach his disciples in this house in Capernaum, when you do something for one of my people, it's like you're doing it for me. If you receive someone in my name, you're receiving me, and it's not even me you're receiving you're receiving the Father who sent me. But he uses here a child. In verse 36, he uses a child. And we’ve got to think about this, because it's a child that Jesus can take up in his arms. So, this is a little child, a small child, and he's holding this child in his arms, using the child as an example to the disciples. Now let's think this through. Okay, because we're here today to learn what Jesus is teaching, but we have to learn it through the original context of Jesus teaching his twelve disciples. You can't just read what the Bible says and just make it immediately about you. You have to go to the original context to really understand what is being said, because you here today, all together, and these disciples in this house, we might think differently if Jesus brought a child, right? So, let's say I have a young child backstage, and I carry that child out here, and I'm holding this child, and we're all looking at the cute, chubby cheeks of the child. If I brought a child and held it in my arms and I brought him out here today, what would everybody in this room do? What would we all do? (Aw!) That's exactly what you would do. Very well done. Yes, you pictured that with me very well. We would think, oh, kids, they're so precious. That's how we feel about our kids. We have a whole building for children here at this church. We try to keep them safe. We've got people in there who care. We are like, yes, about kids. Is that how these disciples think about kids? Would they be awing when Jesus brings a child in before them?
Jump ahead with me to Mark, chapter 10, and look at how the disciples react when people are trying to bring kids to Jesus. And we're going to talk about kids when we get to Mark 10. We're going to talk about our kids’ ministry here at the church. Mark 10:13, “And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples” what everybody? They “rebuked them.” They didn't welcome them. They didn't receive them. They weren't like, oh, look at these cute kids. They were like, stop bringing your kids to Jesus. He's got important things to do. That was the attitude, and Jesus wasn't having it. Verse 14, “when Jesus saw it, he was indignant.” He's angry. “And he said to them, ‘Let the children come to me.’” Do not hinder them. And he goes on to teach more there, and we'll get to that. But I just want you to see that when Jesus brings in a child, this isn't producing the aw-factor with the disciples, the disciples are like, hey, these kids aren't really that significant. These children aren't that important. We don't need to be bringing them to Jesus. Hey, you guys need to leave. And Jesus is like, what are you guys doing?
But that shows us how the disciples would have thought of a child. The disciples might have just overlooked that child. They might have looked down upon that child. So now go back to verse 36 because when Jesus is bringing that child and he's putting it in the midst, right, what was the line he just said before, that if you want to be first, you must be last of all, and you must be a servant of all. And then he gets the child out, and he says in verse 37, “Whoever receives one such child in my name, receives me.” Now we have an idea of what it means to receive, because when Jesus sent these disciples out two by two, he talked about people who would receive you, meaning they would welcome you into their household and they would give you a place to stay, and they would be hospitable to you and support you. And if someone received you, stay with them. If someone does not receive you, shake the dust off your feet and keep on going. Does anybody remember that? So this receiving is welcoming someone into the household. So, if you're a servant, one of the things a servant would do… and remember, the word “household” meant something different in the first century than how it means for our households today. Back at this time, a household was not only a family, but servants, and probably a business was run there out of that household, and so a servant might be waiting by the door for their master or to receive someone into the household, and if a child came to the door, would a servant be like, oh, I'll receive this child? Or would perhaps the servant overlook the child like they're not someone that important that I need to receive?
And so, this is what Jesus is trying to say to his disciples. It doesn't matter who they are. If you consider them insignificant, if you consider them the least, if they come in my name, when you receive them, you receive me. In fact, when you receive that one who comes in my name, you're receiving the Father himself. So, Jesus is trying to teach the disciples not to look on people based on their external appearance or based on how you might think they have value to you, or what they could do for you. No, look at people based on, are they in Christ's name? Are they coming as a brother or sister? Are they coming to learn about Jesus? Then receive them like you would receive Jesus himself. Jesus wants you to know that how you treat his people. He's taking it personally.
Let's get this down for point number one, if you are taking notes: “Learn how Jesus associates with his little ones.” Learn how Jesus associates with his little ones. And he uses this picture of a child to refer to his people. In fact, in Mark, chapter 9, when we pick it up next time in verse 42, he says, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin.” So, he's saying, you should receive them, and it's like you're receiving me. And then, later on, he's going to warn you, if you cause one of those people to sin, and there's going to be devastating consequences if you cause one of Jesus’ people to sin. But first, he's teaching, hey, receive them like if I was coming. How would you receive me? Yes, treat them like that. Don't evaluate the strangers. When someone comes to you in the name of Jesus and you don't know them, receive them like you were welcoming Jesus himself. Jesus associates personally with his people, and he thinks that how you treat the people who come in his name is how you're treating him.
An example of this that always comes to my mind is in the book of Acts. When Saul began to persecute the church, and when they killed the first Christian martyr, Stephen. They laid their garments at the feet of a man named Saul. And if you know the story, he ends up becoming the Apostle Paul because he meets Jesus on the road to Damascus, because he's going to another city, having terrorized the Christians in Jerusalem, he's on his way to do the same in Damascus. And he sees a blinding light, and he hears a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And every time I read that, I'm like, I don't know if Saul was there at the crucifixion with Jesus. I don't have an account of Saul doing something against Jesus when Jesus was here in the flesh. No, I just have Saul killing Stephen and throwing Christians in prison and going after the church there in Jerusalem. So, Saul is persecuting Christian people in the name of Jesus, but Jesus says you're persecuting me.
Jesus is trying to teach his disciples that the way you treat the least of these my brothers is how I'm taking it. If you receive them, you receive me. Now, is that how you think? Because I can tell you, I hear things at this church regularly that don't fit into that kind of thinking. I hear people say regularly like, why are there so many cars in our parking lot, and why is it so hard to park around here? I liked it when the church was smaller back in the day. You ever heard somebody say that before? So, you want people to stop coming in the name of Jesus. You want to stop receiving people and welcoming them in the name of Jesus. Let's think that through a little bit, because Jesus is saying, that person may not seem significant to you. You may not know them. They just might be like a like a child coming to the door of the household, and the servant doesn't even bother to receive them. But when you receive someone who comes in my name, it's like you receive me. How would you prepare for church if you thought Jesus was showing up at the service? How would you be ready to receive him? He says, do that for those who come in my name.
So, he's teaching his disciples how to value his people. We were focused on twelve. We're making these twelve to become someone they were not. We're sending these twelve out, but we're not trying to limit it to twelve. We're trying to be ready to receive other people who come in the name of Jesus, and that when he's teaching this. Then John's like, oh, I know somebody who is doing something in your name. I know someone who is casting out demons. And so, look at verse 38 because John here, he's like, oh yeah, I know somebody who was doing something in your name. He was casting out demons. And we went to stop him, because he's not following… What's the key word there? He's not following what? “Us”. He's not with us. See, this is John now getting tribal, getting territorial here, hey, he's not with us. So, we need to shut him down. I don't know, John, it seems to me that casting out demons could be a benefit to the local community. I don't know if that's something we need to stop. Right? But see, John, he's like, oh, I know somebody who's doing something in your name, and we need to shut that down, Jesus.
You’ve got to understand who John is. Go back to chapter 3 with me, and let's look at when Jesus called these twelve disciples. And some of these disciples, we really get to know personally. And you can see that even by how it mentions all twelve of them here in Mark, chapter three. But some of them get more description than others, because those are the ones we're really going to get to know through the Gospel. And so, in Mark 3, it describes how Jesus appointed his twelve disciples. In Mark, we've really been seeing that Jesus is making these men to become someone they were not. He's making them into his disciple. It's not that they already were his disciples. He's teaching them to become his disciples. And it says in verse 16, “He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name)” what everybody? Peter. So, Simon is definitely one of the twelve we all come to know. And Peter is a hard guy not to root for Simon. He says some things that make you want to cheer, and some of the things that make you want to cringe. Do you know what I'm talking about? Right? The guy who denies Jesus three times when he's before the Council there, and he's going to be killed, and he acts like he doesn't know Jesus three times, well, he becomes Peter, the rock, the stone, and he ends up going to that same Council and telling them that no one can be saved by any name other than the name of Jesus. And so, Jesus made Simon to become someone he was not, and he gave him the name Peter. So, you always want to pay attention when Jesus is giving a name out, it has a real significance. Now look at what it says next. Verse 17, “James, the son of Zebedee and John, the brother of James.” That's the John who's talking now in Mark 9:38, “John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of)” what, everybody? “([T]thunder)”. You can't just say thunder like normal. It's like Sons of Thunder.
Have you ever known someone who was overzealous before? Have you ever known someone who's just like, yeah, let's go do it. Let's do it now. Do you have any friends like this? I've got some friends. They're like, bro, what do you need? I've got your back, bro. I just want you to know I'm always available for you in any situation, and I keep saying it enough. I'm like, brother, are you looking for a fight? Like, where are you going with this language? Like, what are we going to go do right now, bro? But there are these guys, they're like, yes, we're with you, Jesus. That's the Sons of Thunder. Lord, we saw how they rejected us in that city. Shall we call down fire from the sky to consume them? Lord, because we’ve got your back, Jesus, we're here, right? That's John. You might be deceived by how Jesus made him to become someone different than this, because when he writes his gospel much later on, he writes his gospel as the “disciple whom Jesus loved.” But you’ve got to see he came in as one of the sons of thunder. And we don't know as much about James, even though a lot of times Jesus just brings Peter, James and John along with him. James is killed in Acts, chapter 12. He's martyred for his faith. So, Peter and his transformation, and John and his transformation, are two of the disciples that are really given as an example to us. And part of that example is John saying this right here, somebody was casting out demons in your name, and we told him to stop. That's way too intense. That's coming on way too strong. That is the definition of overzealous. And Jesus has to correct John here. Don't stop him if he's out there casting out demons in my name. If he's not against us, then he is for us.
Now, casting demons has been a major theme in the Gospel of Mark, from chapter 1, when he cast out the demon in the synagogue in Capernaum, to chapter 5, when he cast out thousands of demons out of the man, to chapter 6, when he sent out his disciples and they were able to cast out demons, to chapter 9, where the disciples weren't able to cast out a demon because they did not pray. This has been a clear theme, and now we've got somebody outside of the twelve, outside of that group of disciples, who's out there casting out demons in the name of Jesus. And Jesus says, you don't need to stop him. If he's doing it in my name, then he's for us, not against us.
And so, let's get this down for point number two: “Don't be overzealous about people following ‘us,’ when it's about following Jesus.” Can I get amen from anybody on this? We have some overzealous Sons of Thunder here at our church, and I'm thankful that Jesus is saving people here at our church, they're learning new things. Their lives are changing, and so they want to go change the world, and let everybody else know what they're learning about Jesus, which is great, except when you start telling people that they have to come and follow us. No, no, no, let me just make it very clear that we here at Compass, we are not the way. Jesus is the way. He's the truth. He's the life, and no one's getting to the Father except through Jesus. So, we're not trying to point people to us. We're trying to point people to him, and we're all going to meet people out there doing something different than us in the name of Jesus. Should we try to stop them? What is Jesus saying? No, we don't need to stop what they're doing in the name of Jesus, because if they're not against us, then they're actually for us.
Okay, so I hear a lot of chatter at Compass, it's like this is the Compass way to do things. And I hear people arguing for the Compass way. I hear people arguing against the Compass way. And all the time I'm thinking, what is this Compass way? Why are we even talking like this? I'm here almost every day. I walk around all the time, talk to everybody I can. I've never met Compass once in my life, right? If you've heard me preach, you've heard me say that again and again and again, and sometimes I'm like, am I Compass? Why don't you just use my name? What are you trying to say? Are you trying to refer to the elders of our church? One thing I can tell you from me and Bill and Taylor, the three elders we have right now at this church, we are intentionally trying not to have a way of church. We want to do church according to the way that is given to us, God's perfect way in the Scripture. In fact, we prefer our middle name a lot more than our first name, because our middle name around here is what, everybody? Bible. And this is how we want to do church here. We want to add nothing to this. We want to come up with nothing that's our own way. We want to align ourselves and get back to God's way to do the church. Jesus is very capable of building his church, and he doesn't need us. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? So, also, a lot of times, people get fired up about what's going on here, and then they want to call that fire down on somebody else. And what we're learning here today is you don't need to do that, though it almost happens every weekend. They'll be like, hey, I want you to meet my neighbor. I got him here from the other church they go to. Can you talk to him? And it's almost like, can you get them for me, you know? And I'm just like, bro, why are you harassing these people if they're going to their church? Why are you trying to get them over here? We didn't come to Huntington Beach so people would change churches. We came to Huntington Beach to make disciples in the name of Jesus Christ. And so, you're like, why are you doing this? If they've got something going on in the name of Jesus, we don't need to stop what other people are doing.
So, there are some people at our church who have a tendency to be like James and John, overzealous about how we do it. And Jesus is saying, you don't need to do that. You don't need to go stop those people. If they're doing it in the name of Jesus, then they're not against us. They are actually for us. Go to Philippians, chapter 1. Look how Paul puts a similar idea here in Philippians, chapter 1, starting in verse 12. Okay, let's really think this through. What John is saying is we've got to stop him because they're not following us. And Jesus is saying, you don't need to stop him because he's in my name. And so, in Philippians 1, Paul ends up in prison. That's where he's writing Philippians from. And it's amazing that it's the letter most known for joy, but it was written in jail. And so, he says in Philippians 1:12, “want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.” Hey, you guys might be thinking I'm in a bad spot because I'm in prison, but I actually want to let you know that the good news is going to the entire captive audience with me here in prison, like I've told everybody, the good news. Everybody knows why I'm here for Christ. All the guards, everybody else in prison, they're all hearing about Jesus and verse 14, “And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” In fact, ever since I got in here in prison, I'm hearing more reports of brothers out there preaching the Word and being bold to do it. And so, you might think it's bad to be in prison, but if the good news is going out, then that's good for me. Praise the Lord. And then he says this. Think this through, verse 15, “Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.” So, Paul is saying that he knows some of the people out there preaching, the reason they're doing it is they're in competition with him, and they're seeing him in prison as a chance maybe to get some of his followers as a chance to make a name for themselves. Hey, Paul's not around. I'll preach this one. Hey, you guys should listen to me, and they're moving in because Paul's in prison. Look at what he says about that. Verse 17, “The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.” Wow, if you knew people were doing things out of competition with you, if you knew people were doing things to promote themselves, but they're doing it in the name of Jesus, would you rejoice that the name of Jesus is going out, or would you take it personally? Because Paul's setting a good example of what Jesus taught those disciples, if they're doing it in my name, as long as they're really preaching Christ, as long as they're really talking about his death and resurrection, and that he's the Son of God, if they're out there preaching Jesus, then we don't need to stop them, because they're doing it in the name of Jesus. And so, be careful about being overzealous with other brothers and sisters that you might meet, because if they're doing it for Jesus, it's really his gospel. You don't need to get in their way. That's something that we need to hear Jesus say to John here at this church, beware of overzealousness.
Now, this is where this is going to get really complicated though, because some people are going to say they're preaching Jesus, but they're actually preaching a false gospel. So just because they're using the name of Jesus does not mean they're really preaching the gospel of Jesus. They could be twisting it, still using the name of Jesus, still saying they're preaching the gospel, but actually preaching something very different. And so, this is going to require discernment from all of us. Flip your handout over to the back and look at questions three and four. We're going to have to really think this through together, because in question number three, it says, “What is a way people may use the name of Jesus that you would need to say is wrong?” There might be a time you need to say, no, don't listen to that. I want to warn you, that's not really what Jesus said. But then number four, “What is a way people may use the name of Jesus that is different from us, but we don't need to confront it?” We don't need to stop it. It's fine. It's just another, different way to do it. So, we're going to have to have some discernment, because there's false teaching going on in the name of Jesus, and there are other people out there teaching in the name of Jesus. Don't stop anybody preaching the real gospel of Jesus. But what about people who are preaching a false gospel in the name of Jesus?
Turn to Galatians, chapter 1, and notice the different tone that Paul takes in Galatians, chapter 1, starting in verse 6, where, after his greeting, he immediately says, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.” So, see how Paul was being so gracious in Philippians, I know they're out to get me, but if they're preaching Jesus, then praise the Lord. Well, Paul's not like that here in Galatians. Usually when somebody says something that they have a problem with me, it usually starts with this line, like, you're so awesome, I love you. But does anybody else get those emails, right? Paul doesn't even do that here in Galatians. He just goes, I cannot believe you guys are leaving the gospel of Jesus. And then he says in verse 7, “not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed,” which means condemned, which means anathema, let them be judged.
So, do you see how there's a way that Jesus and Paul are teaching us, if they're preaching the gospel, let them be, just let them do their thing. But now there's a way that people are twisting the gospel, distorting the gospel, representing a false gospel, let them be judged. So, you're going to have to discern who's out there preaching the gospel, and we should let them be, and then who's preaching a false gospel, and we should let them be judged. In fact, look at what he goes on to say in verse 9, “As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”
Okay, so let me give you three things to think about and how we would identify a false presentation of the gospel. Number one: “If they add words.” Number one, if they add words. One of the things that Paul says here in Galatians, chapter 1, verse 8, is, even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preach to you. Can anybody think of a person or even a religion that began because an angel from heaven came to a man and added more words onto the Scripture? Shout it out, if you can think of somebody like that. (Mormons) yes. So, we have Joseph Smith who claims to have revelation from an angel from heaven who began Mormonism, which is a major movement here in the United States of America. And we have Muhammad, who says, an angel came from heaven and gave him more revelation, which has become Islam, which is growing in its representation here in Americ, and is predominant in countries around the world. And we have these men saying, an angel told me this, and now it leads to new books, new words, new ways to think. Now, if you talk to a Mormon, will they say they're talking to you about Jesus? If you even talk to a Muslim, would they say, here's what we believe about Jesus? So, they'll use the name of Jesus. Are they talking about the same Jesus? No. In the Mormon thought about Jesus, he is a man who became a God, not God who became a man. They completely flipped the script on Jesus. They'll say they're all about the Church of the Latter Day saints of Jesus Christ. Oh, they'll tell you they're coming to you in the name of Jesus, they'll tell you they're Christians, but their Jesus, he's a different Jesus. And then, Jesus is a prophet. According to Islam, he's a prophet. But if you say Jesus is the Son of God, they won't agree with you that Jesus is the Son of God. In fact, they find it offensive, the idea that God would even have a son. So, I've heard them, and I've sat down with them, and we've talked about what they think about Jesus. That's some other Jesus than the one revealed in Scripture. We already have the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation. We have it all the way to the end. We do not need any more words. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? If somebody comes with a new revelation, with a different message, let them be accursed. Paul says, don't listen to that. Don't turn to that. They're adding words to the real gospel of Jesus.
How about when people add works? Let's get that down for our second thing to watch out for: “Watch out when people add works.” If you know the book of Galatians, they're being told the things that's troubling them, the different gospel that's coming to them, is that if they're really going to be saved, if they're really going to be righteous, then the men among them, they have to be, what does anybody know? Circumcised. They're basically saying they have to become Jews. They have to follow the old covenant law. And Paul, he does not beat around the bush as to what he thinks about that. He's not like, oh, well, just let them get circumcised. Let them do it in the name of Jesus. No, he is coming out strongly against that. And he's saying, if you think you have to do the work of circumcision, then you have to fulfill all the works and keep the whole law. If you're going to make the gospel of Jesus about what you do, then you have to be perfectly righteous, because there is only one who is righteous, and we are all saved, not by anything that we do. The only way to be saved is based on what Jesus has already done. Jesus is the one who lived a perfect life. Jesus is the one who died in our place. Jesus rose again and offers eternal life to everyone who believes in him. And the only righteousness you will ever be able to find is the one given to you freely by grace. In Jesus Christ, nobody has righteousness. No, not one. And so, we'll just get circumcised, and then we'll be good. No, if you make it about one thing you do, it's now about you having to do everything. And he's saying to them, watch out. Are you going to do it by your own works? Are you going to do it by God's Spirit? Are you going to do it by trusting in Christ, or are you still trusting in yourselves? He's not acting like, well, you guys can get circumcised if you want. You guys can think that if you want. He's acting like, adding works to the gospel of Jesus eliminates salvation by grace through faith. You cannot make salvation about what you do. Salvation is only available through Jesus and what he has done. Can I get an amen? Okay, but let me tell you what's happening and it's growing. It's happening all around us is people are thinking, Yeah, you should be a Christian, but you really got to get baptized if you really want to be saved. I'm hearing a whole lot of that lately. And in fact, I'm hearing a lot of people say that when we take communion, which we're going to do in our next passage in Mark, when we take communion, the communion actually becomes the body and the blood of Jesus, and you have to take communion in that holy way. And so, people take things that we're told to do in the Scripture, but they now make them like you have to do them, or you're not really saved. Was circumcision a good thing that God gave Israel to do? Was it the sign of his covenant with them? But see then what happens over time. And this is always what happens. This is always what religious people do. This is what we do in our pride. God says, here, let me give it to you. And we say, no, we can do it ourselves, and we'll do it by doing this. And we take these pictures, these symbols that God gives, and we make them physical, tangible things that you have to do. And so, we have baptism as a sign of our cleansing from sin, and that we're risen with Christ, and we're supposed to let people know of our repentance and forgiveness through baptism. And now it's like, no, you have to get baptized, or you're not forgiven. And then communion, which is a time to remember what Jesus did for us. Now, people are like, no, it's about this, eating this. This has to be his body and his blood. People are putting the emphasis now on the works, rather than on Jesus. And you need to watch out for this. You're going to hear somebody saying something like this, this is a growing thought going on all around us right now where people are saying, yeah, I agree with that. And in Galatians, Paul is like, don't buy into that thinking. Don't make it about something you do. If you make it about one thing you do, you have to do all the things you forfeit that it's given to you by grace. When you make it about your own works, watch out for that. And we need to pray that God will protect everybody here, because that kind of people don't want to believe in spiritual things. People want physical, tangible things that they can do. And this is about trusting in Jesus, not you doing it yourself, but we always want to make it something that I can do. Just tell me what to do, just give me something to do. That's the whole point. When it comes to righteousness, you can't do it. You have to trust him, and so watch out, because they're going to add words. They're going to add works.
How about a third one? They're going to add water. Let's get that one in: “They are going to water it down.” They are going to make it lose all of its flavor. Jesus is sickened by the lukewarmness that is so common in American church. Jesus would rather have us hot or cold, but because we are lukewarm, he's going to what everybody? You get this nice hot drink. You pour enough water in there, it's not going to be a nice hot drink. Even a nice iced, cold refreshing beverage. If you dump water in there, it's going to bring the flavor and the taste of that down. And that's what's happening at so many churches across America. If you go to church, it's like, let me tell you how to improve your life right now. Let me tell you what Jesus can do for you in your life right now. You can have a happier marriage, you can have more money, you can be a better dad. Let's make this all about you. And all the sermons are topical sermons, because there are only certain things we want to talk about. We can't just go through the verses in the books of the Bible, because then we'll end up talking about things that might offend people or people might not like, so we only pick the things we want to talk about from the scripture, and we leave a lot of it out. What's the big thing that we leave out? What's the big thing that we pour so much water in there? We never talk about it. It's like Jesus came to save your family, or Jesus came to save your marriage, or Jesus came to save your bank account, or Jesus came to save your happiness, when the truth is that Jesus came to save you from your what? (Sin) And they won't say it at churches anymore. They won't talk about it like that. I mean, if you, if you study the name of Jesus, they named him Jesus because he came to save his people from their what? But people don't want to say it. They don't want to talk about what the sins are. They don't want to call people to repent of their sins. And so, then we have to make it like Jesus came so you could be happy, or Jesus came so you could be rich, or Jesus came so you could be healthy. We're like making up other things that Jesus came for because we don't want to talk about the very clear thing that he actually did come for.
Go with me to Galatians, chapter 5. Look at how Paul talks about it here, and this is the way that we're all supposed to be talking about it, whether it's the pastor preaching at church, or you’re talking about it with your family member or neighbor? With Jesus Christ, you are either in with him or you are out with him. There is no middle ground with Jesus. There is death and there is life, there is darkness and there is light. You cannot have one foot in with the world and one foot in with Jesus. Can I get an amen from anybody on this?
Look at what it says in Galatians 5. Look at how clear it is here. “Now the works of the flesh are evident,” and here's a list of sins, “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalry, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these.” I warn you, Paul says, “As I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the” what everybody? “The kingdom of God.” Now, if you're one of these Galatians who's seriously considering getting circumcised, because you're very interested in the Jewish way of thinking, in the Jewish mindset, the whole way that the Jewish mindset is, is we want the kingdom of God to come to Jerusalem. And so it's very clear here, if you live this way, you're not a part of the Kingdom of God. You're not going to inherit the kingdom of God.
And so, there's a clear line, like, this is what it is to be in sin. That's what Jesus saves you from. That's the Gospel. Jesus died so you would no longer live in that, and he rose from the dead so you could learn a whole new way to live. That's the good news of Jesus. And now people want to think, great, I'll go to heaven when I die, and I can still sin while I'm alive. That's not the gospel that might fly in America. That's not going to get you past the pearly gates in the New Jerusalem. And so, it says, this is the but, “But the fruit of the Spirit,” people who really have now the Spirit of God in a new life, here's what they look like, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control,” against such things. There is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus, those who are really in his name, they have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let's walk in the Spirit. Let's bear the fruit of the Spirit. Are you still living your physical, normal, sinful life, or do you have a new spiritual life because of the gospel of Jesus? And so, they're going to add so much water that the gospel becomes about something else, rather than about Jesus giving you a new life and rescuing you from your sin. And so, maybe if you're talking to somebody and they're like, I need a place that's preaching the Word, I need a way to learn how to repent of my sin. I need somebody to teach me the way of Jesus. Yes, then it might be appropriate to bring them here to our church so they can hear the Word with us and be discipled along with us. But you’ve got to watch out.
I'm excited to see our conversations at church this week. Who's out there in the name of Jesus, and we shouldn't stop them, who's out there in the name of Jesus, but we need to warn everybody about them? That's real discernment, that we're going to need. Go back to Mark, chapter 9, because after Jesus corrects John's overzealousness, you don't need to stop them. They're not against us. They're for us. There's going to be other people out there doing real things in the name of Jesus. They don't have to do it with us. They can go and do it. Jesus says, and then he says this in verse 41, “For truly, I say to you,” and we haven't had a lot of these in Mark. So let me make it very clear how this works. Whenever you read Jesus say “Truly, I say to you,” it means that Jesus already knows whatever he's about to say is not commonly believed or thought by people, so he's front loading it to say that what he's about to say is the truth, and you would do well to pay attention, to listen and to learn what he's about to say. So, what I would encourage you to think, whenever you get to a Truly, truly, I say to you” from Jesus, is you should ask yourself, do I really believe what Jesus is about to say here? Because the reason he's front loading it like that is most people aren't going to really agree with what he's about to say. That's why he says, Truly, I say to you.” And what he says here is, “whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, will by no means lose his reward.” So, the other two times, he talked about people being in his name, he talked about how the disciples should act towards those people. If somebody comes to you in the name of Jesus, you should receive them. And if somebody is out there in the name of Jesus, you don't need to stop them. But here in this verse, he puts it like what someone would do for them, because their name is now of Christ, and he says, even if somebody does something as simple and basic as they give you a cup of water, just trying to think of a basic physical thing you could do for someone else, they give you a cup of water. But they do it because you're one of my people. They do it because you're of Christ. They know you're a Christian, and so they serve you, even if it's just a cup of water, they will by no means lose their reward. If you do something to serve one of Jesus's people, you will get your wages. That's what he's saying here. You will get paid.
Now we have to think about this from the mind of the disciples. Do the disciples want to be great? Yes, they do. The disciples think it's good to be rich. Yes, they do. Is Jesus telling them stop wanting to be great and stop wanting to be rich? Or is he redefining for them what is greatness? He's showing them that greatness is actually what? Serving, and that you don't want to make it about you getting rich, right here, right now. Where do you want to be rich? In heaven. You want to store up your treasure in heaven. So, sometimes we act like, oh, we're not about being great, we're not about being rich. We're beyond that. But if you get yourself in the mind of these twelve men in the house with Jesus, they are about that they do want to be the greatest. They want to sit at the right and the left of Jesus. They want to be rich in the kingdom. That's their whole idea. And Jesus isn't saying, don't want to be great. Don't want to be rich. He's saying, here’s how greatness actually works is, it works in service, and here's what richness actually looks like, it looks like a reward in the kingdom. And so, to the disciples, that's very interesting. That's very motivating. I've met a lot of people here at church. They're like, well, I'm just here because Jesus saved me. I don't need a reward. I've heard a lot of people say that maybe you think that that's a common thought these days. The disciples were not thinking that. The disciples were thinking, we're going to follow this rabbi, because this rabbi, he's the way to go, and he's going to bring in the kingdom. He's the Messiah. He is the king, and since we're his followers in the kingdom, we'll be somebody great. We'll be somebody rich. That's what they're thinking, and Jesus is teaching them the right way to think about it. But they still have that desire to be great in the kingdom, to be rich in the kingdom. In fact, go over to Mark 10, where you can see this very clearly, because there's a rich man who's going to come to Jesus, and Jesus is going to tell him, sell everything you've got, give it to the poor and come follow me. And what is the rich man going to do everybody? He's going to walk away what? Sad? Because he wants to hang on to his riches. And look at what the disciples think about that. Let's try to get in the mind of the disciples here. “And Jesus looked around,” this is Mark 10:23, “And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were” what at his words, everybody? (Amazed) See, to the disciples, that does not compute. They're thinking, if you're rich, that's because you're blessed of God. That must mean you're closer to God. So, you're telling me, the rich are going to have a hard time entering the kingdom? Their minds are blown by this. And then he says in verse 24, “But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.’ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, ‘Then who can be saved?’” Do you see, in their mind, being rich isn't a bad thing? Being rich is a blessing, and it probably means you're already right with God, and you're already on your way to the kingdom, and now Jesus is showing them the rich man walking away sad because he's not willing to give up his riches. And they're like, whoa. This is changing their paradigm. Who's even going to make it to the kingdom then, and so Jesus is now going to teach them. It says in verse 27, “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.’” Peter began to say to him, like, here's Peter getting it. As Jesus is talking, he's like, see, hey, look at this. What? Hey, we have left everything and followed you. I remember when I dropped the nets and followed you. I remember when they left their father, Zebedee, behind in the boat and followed you. I remember when he left the tax booth and followed you. Hey, wait a minute. We did that. We left everything to follow you. Look what Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you,” notice that “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Okay, let me ask you a question. Do you believe the words of Jesus? Does Jesus always keep his promises? If Jesus says something, is it going to happen? Well, Jesus just said, whether you agree with him or not, that anyone who leaves behind this life to follow him, they will get hundred times what they left behind. That's what Jesus just said. And he said it's true, and he doesn't need you to accept it or not. That's his promise. See, Jesus is not just teaching the disciples that if you want to be first, you've got to be last. He's also teaching his disciples that it's actually the last who will end up what? And I don't know if all of us have thought that all the way through. I think some of us have just heard if I want to be first, then I've got to be last, and I've got to be a servant. But Jesus is saying that in the kingdom the servants are great, that in the kingdom the servants are so highly valued by their master that they are richly rewarded for everything that they did to serve. Jesus wants you to know that even if you do something as basic as give somebody a cup of water, because you know they're your brother and sister in Christ, you know they come in the name of Jesus, even if you just give them a cup of water, Jesus wants you to know he's keeping track of reward, even for something like that.
I have brothers and sisters in this room that serve people in the name of Jesus, because they're Christians, they serve them. And if you're my brother or sister, and you serve God's people, when you meet Jesus someday and he says to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” Jesus will bring up things that you don't even remember doing in your life, because you genuinely did them for somebody else, because you cared about them as your brother and sister in Christ, and you will have long forgotten that you ever even did that, and Jesus will have a reward for you. That's what he's saying. This is how much Jesus cares about his people, that when you do something for one of his people, he knows about it, and he will reward his faithful servants. And so, I meet a lot of Christians these days that are too spiritual for Jesus’ reward. Well, how can you be more spiritual than Jesus? Jesus is saying, look, if you're going to be my servant, you have to believe this. It will be worth it for you to give, to sacrifice, to keep going, to not give up. Jesus wants all of his servants to know this, it will be worth it. He will make sure that it's worth it. He will give you hundred times, both now and in the age to come.
Let's get this down for number three: “Jesus wants his servants to know it will be worth it.” Even the smallest of things that you do, when you do it for someone who's in the name of Jesus, you will get paid for that. You will get the word is like your wages. It's like you did the work and the worker is worthy of his wages. That's the idea. Jesus is saying, there's going to be a reward in the kingdom for those who serve his people now in this life. And this is something Jesus wanted his disciples to know, and Jesus was okay with his disciples being motivated by reward. So, if you're like, well, I'm just motivated by the fact that Jesus loved me and gave his life for me. Well, yes, praise God that Jesus did that, and we love him because he first loved us, but see, we're all going to be making decisions about how we spend our time, how we spend our money, what we give our energy to, what's really worth it to do in this life. And Jesus wants you to think that it's more worth it to serve his people than anything else you could possibly do. You will get a better return of investment on what you give to the people of Jesus than any other thing you could do with your life. That's what he's wanting his disciples to see. Yeah, you guys did leave for me, and you know what you're going to get a hundred times. I mean, to people who are investing here at our church, to people who are trying to figure out their financial future, you promise somebody a hundred times on an investment, they're going to put everything they've got into that investment. That's what Jesus wants you to do with serving his people. He wants you to believe that even when it's hard, it's going to be worth it.
Go to 1 Corinthians, chapter 3, and look at how Jesus describes this time where he's going to give us a reward. So, I want to make sure you know about 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. Okay, and let me try to be very clear about this. Says, if you put your faith in Jesus that he died for your sins and rose again to give you a new life, are you going to be judged for your sins? If your faith is in Jesus, the answer to that is no. The Bible says this in Romans, chapter 8, verse 1, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Okay, so we're saved. He's already taken all the punishment. He's already borne the wrath of God for us, there will be no punishment or judgment in Christ, the perfect love casts out any fear of judgment. Okay, but look at this passage in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 10, “According to the grace of God given to me,” Paul writes, “like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation and someone else is building upon it.” If you go to Acts 18, you will see that Paul planted the church in Corinth. And then later on, Apollos came and preached to the people there in Corinth. And he says, “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.” What day are we talking about here, what day is coming, everyone? The Day of Judgment, the day of the Lord, a day of wrath. Are we going to be judged for our sins? No. Praise God. Jesus was judged for our sins. But look at what it says here. There will be this thought, verse 14, “If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
So, as believers in Jesus, we can say we don't care about the reward today. I'm trying to tell you, you will care about the reward on that day, and you will want to think that what you built on the foundation of Jesus in your life mattered in the end, that it echoes for eternity. And what Jesus wants you to know is that every single thing you do to serve people in his name, if they're in his name and you're serving them, there will be a reward for that. He wants you to know that reward is coming because he wants you to serve his little ones, those who come to you in his name. He wants you to keep giving for them. He wants you to know it will be worth it.
So, we got to spend a moment here today in the house with Jesus, and Jesus told us there will be people who will come in his name. Are we ready to receive them? Jesus told us, there's going to be other people out there in his name. Don't try to stop them. And if somebody does something for you, or you do something for them, because they're your brother or sister in Christ, Jesus wants you to know that matters to him, and there will be a reward for that. So, Jesus cares how we interact with his people, and we should all take this to heart. Let me pray for us right now.
Father in heaven, please, please work on our hearts right now, Father. I'm asking you not to let us just leave here and forget about this teaching, not to let Satan come and snatch this teaching away from the souls here today. Please, Father, if we sat at the feet of Jesus and we heard what he said to his disciples, and we saw him carry the child in his arms. And we heard John talk about the man casting out demons, and we heard Jesus say, even if it's just a cup of water, you will get that reward. I don't think we would just go on with our regularly scheduled lives. God, please let us hear the words of Jesus, and let us realize that this relationship we have with Jesus, where he's the master and we're the servant. The way we're going to serve Jesus is by serving the other people who are in his name. I pray that that would be clear to everybody here. I pray that they would never treat the other Christians around them, the other people at church around them, like strangers or people they don't know, like some child running by them that they don't pay attention to. No, let us receive all the people who come here in the name of Jesus. Let us not be overzealous. Let us not think they need to follow us, as long as they are following Jesus. And God, please. I am so thankful for so many people here at this church. They serve, they go last, they race to the bottom. They put other people as more important. God, I know that when you're putting other people first, you can get tired, you can grow weary. I pray that they would hear what Jesus said, that even if you just keep giving somebody a cup of water, let me tell you how worth it it's going to be in the kingdom. Let me tell you that that work you're doing, that investment, you're making, that all that you're giving, oh, there's hundred times coming. God, please don't let us be too spiritual for the reward of Jesus. Let us hear what our master is saying that he knows how to take care of his servants and all that we pour out here in this life, he's picking up all that. We are not doing for our own attention. He sees it when we keep going after that person and we keep loving that person all because they bear the name of Jesus, he appreciates it. Let us see that when we serve other people, we're really serving the Lord himself. And God, I pray that we would know it's such a joy to follow Jesus, to be one of his disciples, to see him make us to become someone we were not. Just like Simon was named Peter, and just like John went from the son of thunder to the disciple whom Jesus loved, when Jesus meets each one of us, so he will have a name for us, a secret name between Jesus and us, because he knows what we did, we did for him. Please don't let us think we're just serving the church or doing good things. Let us see we're following Jesus. Please let the people here at this church follow Jesus and love those who come here in his name. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.