Verse 10, Aristarchus, my fellow
prisoner, salutes you, and Marcus, the same Mark that we just read
of from 1 Timothy chapter 4, verse, or 2 Timothy chapter 4,
verse 11, that was profitable to Paul to the ministry. Marcus,
the sister's son to Barnabas, touching whom you receive commandments,
if he come unto you, receive him. I've entitled this message, The
Restoration of Mark to the Ministry. The Restoration of Mark to the
Ministry. Paul was going to send Mark to
the Church of Colossa to give some commandments, and Paul tells
them to receive him. to welcome him, and this is the
same mark that was used to write the gospel of Mark. I think it's
interesting how each gospel has a different emphasis. Matthew
emphasizes Christ, the King. Luke emphasizes Christ, the man. John emphasizes Christ, the great
I am. Christ who is God. And Mark emphasizes Christ the
servant. The Son of Man came not to be
ministered to, but to minister and to give his life a ransom
for many. Now most believe that when we
read in Mark chapter 14, and they all forsook him and fled,
and there followed him a certain young man, Having a linen cloth
cast about his naked body, he was following Christ when all
the disciples had forsook him and fled. And the young men laid
hold upon him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them
naked." Now, that was an autobiographical statement regarding Mark concerning
himself. He was this young man who was
following the Lord Jesus Christ, so he was an eyewitness to Christ,
and he also had a very close relationship with Peter. Peter
calls him his son. In 1 Peter 5, verse 13, when
the church was praying for Peter after his arrest in Acts 12,
it was in the home of Mark's mother. And I read where several
people believe that this is the same place where they observe
the Last Supper in Mark's mother's home. Now turn with me for a
moment to Acts chapter 15. This is one of the saddest passages
of scripture in all the Word of God. Acts chapter 15. It's the contention between Barnabas
and Paul over this John Mark, verse 36. And some days after Paul said
unto Barnabas, let us go again and visit our brethren in every
city where we've preached the word of the Lord and see how
they do. And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose
surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to
take him with them who departed from them from Pamphylia and
went not with them to the work. Look earlier in this chapter
in chapter 13, verse 13. Now, when Paul and his company
loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga and Pamphylia, and John,
departing from them, returned to Jerusalem. Now, the word departed
in Acts chapter 15. First, go back to Acts chapter
15. But Paul thought it not good
to take him with them who departed from them, from Pamphylia, and
went not with them to the work. Now, this word departed. It does
not mean Mark got homesick and just got tired of all the stress
and strain of this missionary journey and went on home. It
doesn't mean he just got tired of this. The word is actually
used with reference to apostasy. This is the same word that's
used in Hebrews 3, verse 12, when the writer to the Hebrews
says, take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil
heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. There are
some 20 words in the King James translated departed and this
one usually refers to some kind of apostasy or revolt, standing
aloof, standing against. He departed, same word the Lord
used when he said, depart from me ye that work iniquity. I never
knew you. This is a strong word. And what
Mark appeared to do at this time, this man who was a follower of
the Lord Jesus Christ, he appeared to leave. This was not just him
going back home because he's sick of the way things were going.
He appeared to be departing from the faith, apostatizing from
the faith. He was withdrawing himself. He
was standing aloof. departing. And because of that,
now evidently, thank God, I mean, can a believer get in a place
where they seem this way? Why would we even ask a question
like that? Do you know yourself enough to know that that could
easily be you? That if the Lord withdrew his
hand from you, this would be you. You would depart, you would
stand to live. You know that apart from His
grace that is precisely what you would do. And that's what
it appeared that Mark was doing. Now why? I don't know. I don't know, but it seemed to
be that he was going through this time of doubt and unbelief
and appeared to even be falling away. And Paul thought it not
good to take him with them, who departed from them from Panthea,
and went not with them to the work. And the contention was
so sharp between them that they departed asunder one from the
other. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed into Cyprus, and Paul
chose Silas and departed, being recommended by the brethren under
the grace of God. And he went through Syria and
Cilicia, confirming the churches." Now, Mark seemed to be departing,
but evidently, by the grace of God, he returned. That is so encouraging to me.
Now, when Barnabas wanted to bring him to the work, Paul thought
it not good. Not with his history. We're not
going to bring him. But Paul goes on to say, bring
Mark, for he's profitable to me for the ministry. Now, Mark
was in this bad way. I don't know how long he was
in this bad way, but the Lord brought him out of it. And perhaps
he needed to find out How sinful, how weak and unstable he was
to fit him for greater service and greater dependence on the
Lord. And the Lord did, in fact, restore
this man Mark. We read that from Colossians
4.10 when he talks about he's going to send Mark. If he brings
commandments, you receive him, welcome him. and listen to what
he has to say. And I love that passage in 2
Timothy chapter 4 verse 11, where Paul tells Timothy, bring Mark
with you for he is profitable. He is beneficial to me for the
ministry. Was Paul wrong in Acts chapter
15? Perhaps. Was Barnabas wrong? Perhaps. I don't know what the
right or the wrong thing was there, but I know that they departed
asunder because of that. And I know they were both wrong
to let that happen. Paul was wrong. and Barnabas
was wrong, and Paul would later say regarding Mark, take him
and bring him with you because he's profitable to me for the
ministry. Profitable, useful, meat for
the master's use. Profitable for the ministry. Mark was restored by the grace
of God to this useful role, and now he is profitable. for the
ministry. Now here are two questions that
entered my mind. Number one, what is the ministry? And number two, am I in the ministry? Two very important questions.
Number one, what is the ministry? Mark was restored to this useful
role in the ministry. What is the ministry? And am
I in the ministry? Are you in the ministry? Now, understand, the ministry
is not full-time Christian service and then there's the part-time
or the people who work secular jobs and they're not really in
the ministry. The Bible doesn't know anything about anything
like that. If you are a believer, You are in the ministry. You have a ministry. Now, what is the ministry and
am I personally in the ministry? Now, by definition, the ministry
is the office and the work of a servant. If I'm in the ministry,
that means I'm a servant. I was talking to a fellow today
and he was talking about some problems that were going on in
his church. And he said there was a group of people, it was
a church that practiced all, if you call it, a religious organization. I wouldn't even call it a church,
but a religious organization that practiced contemporary stuff,
you know, that secret church and all that kind of stuff. But
this group came to the pastor and they said, we've got a problem
because we don't think we're being properly served by this. And I told the fellow, I said,
you know, if somebody came up to me and said, we're not being
properly served, I'd say go somewhere else then. You know, and I don't
mean that callously, but you don't go to be served, you go
to serve. And if your desire is to be served,
you're not in the ministry at all. The office of the ministry. is that of being a servant. It's the office and work of a
servant. If I am in the ministry, I am
a servant. Christ, the servant. Now there's
so many glorious things concerning him, but to think of him calling
himself a servant. He said, the son of man came
not to be ministered to, but to minister, to be a servant. and to give his life a ransom
for many. Now, I've said this several times
before, but if you want to be great, you know all you got to
do is be a servant. He that shall be great among
you, let him be the servant and minister of all. Christ came
to be a servant. Now, we read in the scriptures
of domestic servants. We read of the apostolic ministry. We read of the ministry of the
church. We read of the ministry of individual believers. And
we even read of the ministry of angels. If I am saved, I have
a ministry. I am in the ministry. If you are saved, you have a
ministry. You are in the ministry. If you want to read about it,
read Romans chapter 12 when you get an opportunity this week.
Now, whatever ministry we have, and there are different ministries,
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 5, that there are differences
of ministrations, which is ministries, but the same Lord. But let me
tell you this, about whatever ministry I'm in or have, number
one, if I'm in the ministry, it's because God put me in the
ministry. It's not something I volunteered
for. It's not something I placed myself in. it's because God put
me in the ministry. Paul said in 1 Timothy chapter
1 the same thing. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord
who hath enabled me for he counted me faithful putting me in the
ministry. So if I am in the ministry, it's
because God put me in the ministry. And number two, the ministry
is a work. It's a work. calling upon me
for sacrifice, giving myself to it, giving myself wholly to
it. It is a work. Remember how Paul
said regarding Mark, he departed from us and didn't go with us
to the work. In Ephesians 4, verses 11 and
12, he gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some
pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for
the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. This is a work that requires
diligence, commitment, sacrifice, and discipline on our part. Now,
what I want to do now is look at the New Testament descriptions
of the ministry. There are six. And they're very
simple. If you want to know what the
Christian ministry is, and I'm not just talking about being
a preacher. I'm talking about being a believer. I'm talking
about being in the ministry, being a servant of God. There
are six descriptions of the Christian ministry. And the first one is
found in Acts chapter 6, verse 4, where Peter spoke of being
ministers of the Word. Now whatever the ministry is,
it has something to do with the Word. Ministers of the Word. Now listen to me real carefully.
This book is the inspired Word of God. It reveals who God is. It reveals the character of God. We don't have to guess or wonder
what he's like. He tells us who he is in this
book. And what we really think of God
himself is seen in how we respond to this book. Peter said we're
to give ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word. The Scriptures, the living Word,
the written Word is what reveals the living Word. How would you
know the living Word without the written Word? The fact of
the matter is you wouldn't. You wouldn't know the Gospel
message. This is the word which by the gospel is preached unto
you. Now the ministry proceeds from
the word and is all about the word of God. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God and is profitable for doctrine, for proof. reproved
for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man
of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."
Whatever the ministry is, it is completely, it proceeds from,
it's surrounded by, and it's all about the Word of God. Now, if it's not about the Word,
it's not the ministry. Whatever else it is, it's not
the ministry. You know, this same really friendly
fellow, I like him a lot, but I was talking to him and he's
talking about, is the word preached? He said, well, he said, there's
so many good things done. Many good things done. I mean,
many. We're helping thousands of people all over the world.
Well, I'm glad you are, and I wouldn't discount that. That's good. I'm
glad you help people. But what's that got to do with
the Word of God? It's the gospel preached. Does your pastor ever
take a passage of Scripture and say, this is what this means?
He said, well, I don't know. Ministers of the Word. May God make us consumed with
the Word of God. Now, secondly, in 2 Corinthians
3, verse 8, it's called the ministration of the Spirit. I love this. It's not some dry,
barren, man-made thing. It's the ministration of the
Spirit. And this is why it's such a powerful,
effectual thing. It's empowered and inspired by
the Holy Spirit of God, whether in the preaching of the gospel
or seeking to be a servant to others. It's the work or the
ministry of the Holy Spirit. It's an utterly supernatural
thing. If I'm in the ministry, it's empowered. by the Spirit
of God. He gave me life, he put me in
the ministry, and he causes me to continue in the ministry.
He's the one who's made me this servant. It is the ministration
of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who gives life. You know, just in reference to
the preaching of the gospel. This is such a comfort to me.
I want to do my best. I want to bring a message that's
clear and understandable and fresh and powerful and from the
Word of God. But I also know this. He won't
do any good at all unless God the Holy Spirit blesses it. And
as far as you're hearing, you won't hear to profit in any way
unless God the Holy Spirit blesses it to you. This is the ministry
of the Spirit. It's God the Holy Spirit, the
third person of the Blessed Trinity, taking the Word of God, the ministry
of the Word, and using it for his own glorious purposes. It's
the ministry of God the Holy Spirit. Now turn with me to 2
Corinthians chapter 4. What is the ministry? Well, it's
the ministry of the Word. It's the ministry of the Spirit.
Now, look here in chapter 4, verse 1. Paul says, Therefore,
seeing we have this ministry. Now, the we is every believer.
He's not talking about some special group or just the apostles. He's
talking about every believer. We're united in this. Seeing
we have this ministry. What ministry? What's he talking
about? Well, if you go back into 2 Corinthians
3, he tells us exactly what he's talking about. He'd been talking
about it, and then he says, seeing we have this ministry, look in
verse 5 of 2 Corinthians 3. Not that we're sufficient of
ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency
is of God, who also hath made us able ministers. of the New Testament. Now that's the ministry he's
speaking of, able ministers of the New Testament. Now, Paul defines in chapter
three what he means by able ministers of the New Testament by way of
contrast. Look what he says in verse one,
do we begin again to commend ourselves or need we as some
others epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation
from you? Do we need papers and degrees
and, and, uh, a commendation from men to prove that God's
hand is on us. Where'd you go to seminary? Where'd
you get your training? Do we need things like that?
No. Paul says, you are our epistle, written in our hearts, known
and read of all men, for as much as you are manifestly declared
to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not
with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not in tables
of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart. Now here's
the first contrast, something written, not in stone. Is it
written in stone? Well, it can still be wiped out.
I don't care if it is written in stone, it can still be wiped
out. But if it's written in the heart, it's there for good. God
giving a new heart and taking his finger and writing in that
heart and placing his spirit in that heart. Verse 4, And such
trust have we through Christ to God, would not that we're
sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as of ourselves,
but our sufficiency is of God, who also hath made us able ministers
of the New Testament. And here's what that is, not
of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter killeth, but the
Spirit giveth life. Not of the letter, but of the
Spirit. Now here's what the New Testament
is. It's not of the letter. Now the letter is the proper
spelling. You know how to spell something,
you know how to pronounce it, congratulations. The spirit is
the meaning. It's one thing to know how to
spell something, it's another thing to know what it means.
Now here is the most glorious example I can think of, of letter
and spirit. Everybody knows the letter of
the law. Thou shalt not, we ought not
breaking any of those commandments. And everybody deep down knows
that. And everybody feels bad because they had broken them
or they feel good because they think they kept them. But they
have all these different beliefs regarding the Ten Commandments.
They know the letter of the law. Yod not steal. Yod not kill. You ought to tell the truth.
And all these different feelings that come out of that, either
self-vindication and justification because of ignorance of what
the law actually says, or guilt and just feeling bad and feeling
down. There's the letter of the law. You know what the spirit
of the law is? The law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. Now that is the spirit of the
law. The law has one purpose, to show
you your absolute need of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the
purpose of God's law. It's not a law thrown out there
that you're supposed to try to keep. And I'm not in any way
suggesting that it's okay to break the law. No, it's not okay
to break the law. But I'll tell you what, you can't
keep it. The Bible teaches that. And the law has this one purpose,
to show you your sinfulness and your utter need of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That is the spirit of the law. And we're not under law. We're
under grace. Aren't you thankful for that?
We're not under law. The Bible says that. Somebody
says, oh, I hear people say not under law, but under grace. That's
a good statement. I love it. I'm thankful. We're not under
law, but under grace. Let's go on looking at these
contrasts. He says in verse seven, But if
the ministration of death, that's what he calls the law, written
and engraved in stones was glorious, so that the children of Israel
could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory
of his covenant, which glory was to be done away with, how
shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? Now the law was glorious, but
it had no glory in comparison with the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the person of Christ. We love God's law, but you know
what? It's been done away with. It's been done away with. All
that remains is the gospel of Christ. It's the glory that exceleth. Let's go on reading verse nine.
For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, that's all God's law
does, is it condemns. Much more does the ministration
of righteousness exceed in glory. Now here's the name of the New
Testament, the ministration of righteousness. And I love this. Do you know the gospel actually
makes me righteous? As righteous as Christ himself. Because his righteousness is
my personal righteousness before God. That's what the gospel does.
You see, my sin became His sin. He became guilty of my sin. God's
just. God's going to punish sin. God's
wrath came down upon Him, and He punished sin. It was Christ's
sin. Well, it used to be mine, but
He took it, and it became His, not mine anymore. And He takes
His glorious righteousness and gives it to me, and I'm the very
righteousness of God. Don't you love that? You know,
I find that more thrilling. It's the ministration of righteousness. It's the ministration of His
righteousness both imputed to me and imparted to me in the
new birth where I'm given a holy nature, a new nature that I did
not have before. Now David said in Psalm 71, 16,
I've made mention of righteousness, even thy righteousness only.
And I know why David said that. There's only one righteousness.
His. And the gospel is called the ministration of righteousness. Verse 10, for even that which
was made glorious had no glory in this respect. He's talking
about the law. It had no glory in this respect by reason of
the glory that excelleth. For that which is done away was
glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. Now here's
another contrast. The law's been done away. It's just done away. It's no
more. But that which remains, the gospel,
it's still here, is altogether glorious. Verse 12, seeing that
we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech. And I love
the way he says, seeing we have such hope. What a hope we have
in the life, the death, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. What
a hope that is. I have a hope that I'm going
to stand before God accepted. And seeing that we have such
hope, We use great plainness of speech. We don't try to veil
what we're saying or try to keep from offending somebody. We preach
the gospel as God preaches the gospel. We don't try to cover
it up. We use great plainness of speech
as opposed to obscurity. Verse 13, Not as Moses, which
put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could
not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished. But
their minds were blinded, for until this day there remains
the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament,
which veil is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when
Moses was read, the veil is upon their heart. They still don't
understand what it means. One is obscure. One is plain. One is the Old Testament. the
covenant of works, and one is the New Testament, the covenant
of grace. And what I love about the New
Testament is the New Testament is a whole lot older than the
Old Testament. It's infinitely old. However old God is, that's
how old the New Testament is. It's the ministry of righteousness. Now, turn with me to Acts chapter
20. Here's the Fourth scriptural example or description of the
ministry. Verse 24, but none of these things move
me, the fact that I'm going to be thrown in jail every time
I go to a different city to preach the gospel that bonds and afflictions
abide me, but none of these things move me, neither can't I my life
dear unto myself so that I might finish my course with joy and
the ministry which I've received of the Lord Jesus to testify
the gospel of the grace of God." Now here is the ministry I've
received to testify the gospel. of the grace of God. Now, I love
the way he begins this. He said, I don't count my life
dear to myself. Now, if you want to be unhappy,
seek to be happy. Now, you can write that down.
Whenever somebody says, I just want to be happy, Don't even
think that way. Don't even think about whether
or not you're happy. Here's what to think about doing. I want
to do what's right, not be happy. I want to do what's right. And
if you do what's right, you'll be happy. But if you seek to
be happy, I tell you, I always I'm waiting for something. So
I'm not happy. But what are they going to do?
They're going to leave their spouse. They're going to What's going
to happen? I always just kind of grit my teeth when somebody
says, I want to be happy. Paul said, I don't count my life
dear to myself. And the only way that you're
going to finish your course with joy is if you don't count your
life dear to yourself. And then Paul says, I want the
ministry which I've received of the Lord Jesus to testify.
This is the ministry I've received to testify. Now, you testify
that which you've seen, that which you've experienced, not
just something you've read in a book. You're bearing personal
witness. You're giving testimony to something.
I can only testify to that which I've seen. We testify the gospel,
the good news of the grace of God. Now, I can bear witness
and testify to the good news of the grace of God. Here when
we talk about the doctrine of grace. You know, I was reading,
and I don't know if you all read in the paper this morning, but
there was an article about the South Elkhorn Christian Church,
the oldest church in Fayette County. It came out of Virginia.
It was founded in 1769, and the guy was trying to give, a guy's
written a book about it. He was giving all the history
of the church, and he said, I've read over all the minutes, and
he said, it seems like all the arguments and divisions in the
church were always over Calvinism and Arminianism. He said, it's
difficult for us to understand that, but that was an issue back
then, but nobody cares about anything like that now. And I'm
thinking, you don't, you don't. But the point is, I can bear
witness to total depravity. Can you? Can you bear witness to that?
I can bear witness to the utter need of unconditional election. I need God to choose me. I know
if he doesn't choose me, I'd never choose him because I'm
depraved. I'm sinful. I won't call on his name. I won't
do anything if he doesn't do something for me. I can bear
personal witness to that. See, what I'm talking about is
not just something I've taught. It's something I've seen. I bear witness
to the absolute necessity of Christ taking all my sin upon
himself and putting it away. I bear witness to the absolute
need of invincible, irresistible grace. Now, do you hear the way
that said, irresistible grace? You mean it can't be resisted?
That's the kind of grace I need. No other grace will do me any
good. I'm bearing witness to that. I'm bearing witness to
this is what the Bible teaches, but I'm testifying of that which
I've experienced. I can bear witness that the only
way that I'll persevere is if God preserves me. Can you bear
witness to the grace of God? Yes, we say it's what the Bible
teaches. We glory in the fact that the
Bible teaches this, but we're bearing personal witness to this. That's what the ministry is.
To bear witness to the good news. This is good news. To the good
news of the gospel of the grace of God. That's what the ministry
is. It's the ministry of the word.
It's the ministry of the Spirit. It's the ministry of the New
Testament. It's the ministry of testifying the gospel of the
grace of God. I turn to 2 Corinthians chapter
5. Verse 18. And all things are
of God. Wow, I need to be reminded of
that constantly, don't you? All things are of God. All things,
all things. How that person treated you today,
that was of God. That terrible thing that happened
to you, that was of God. That good thing that happened
to you, that was of God. As far as that goes, it's all
good if it's of God, isn't it? All things are of God. Particularly
in salvation, all things are of God. If you're saved, it's
because He saved you. Amen? All things are of God.
You know that so, don't you? If you have faith, He gave it
to you. If you have repentance, He gave it to you. If you have
love for Christ, He gave it to you. If you testify of the gospel
of the grace of God, that's of God. He did this. All things
are of God. I love that. I would want to
be the other way, would you? All things are of God. who hath
reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us
the ministry of reconciliation. Now there's the fifth word, the
fifth description of the Christian ministry. It's the ministry of
reconciliation. God reconciled me. God removed the reason for anger
by removing my sin, and he's reconciled to me. Let's go on
reading. Here's what it is to wit. Namely, here's what it is. That God was in Christ, reconciling
the world unto himself. How? Not imputing their trespasses
unto them. Is this glorious or what? God
not charging me with my sin. It doesn't take away from the
reality of it, but if I'm a believer, God does not charge me with my
sin. He charged it to Christ. Let's
go on reading. To wit that God was in Christ,
were reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them, and hath committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors
for Christ as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you
in Christed, be ye reconciled to God. God's reconciled. If
you're a believer, God's reconciled to you. He's not mad at you.
He's not right now. He is not mad at you. You think
he is? He's not. He doesn't have any
reason to be mad. You see, here's why. Verse 21,
for he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him. Now, God's reconciled. You're the righteousness of God.
You be reconciled to him. Don't be mad at him. Don't be
mad. Drop arms. Don't be mad at Him. Be reconciled to one another. Don't let the sun go down on
your wrath. Don't hold a grudge. Be reconciled. Be reconciled. Don't... Be blessed
are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children
of God. Be one in this thing of God's reconciled to me. I'm
reconciled to Him. I want to be reconciled to everybody. I don't want to be embracing. I don't want to hold a grudge.
I don't want to hold somebody off because of something of the
past. Forgive. Well, they haven't asked for
forgiveness. Forgive anyway. Forgive completely by the grace of God.
Be ye reconciled one to another. Isn't that a glorious title of
the gospel? The ministry of reconciliation. Let nothing be done through strife
or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem the
other as better than themselves. Paul warned of envy, strife,
and division. Love as brethren, be courteous.
Oh, the ministry of reconciliation. And the last one is found in
1 Corinthians chapter 16, verse 15. I beseech you, brethren, you
know the house of Stephanus, that is the firstfruits of Achaia,
that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. Now, we hear so much of addictions
in our day and what a problem they are in our society. Addictions to drugs or addiction
to alcohol or addiction to whatever, addictions, addictions. But here
is a good addiction. They have addicted themselves
to the ministry, the service of the saints. Now, what I couldn't
help but think about was where the Lord You'll remember how
James and John asked the Lord that they might have a position
above their brethren. We want to be seated at your
right hand. I guess their mom put them up
to it. As a matter of fact, we know she did. And they thought
it seemed like a good idea. And they came up to the Lord
and they said, grant us this request that we may sit at your
right and left hand right beside of you when you come back into
your kingdom. Now, I can imagine how they would have felt sitting
there and looking at all their poor inferior brethren, and they
would have been the top dogs in the kingdom. And the Lord
rebuked them. He said, now this is the way
the Gentiles act. They exercise authority over one another.
The great ones are the rulers, and then there's the one. That's
the way Gentiles act, but it shall not be so among you. Matter of fact, turn to Matthew
chapter 20. I want to read this. Verse 24, and when the ten heard
of what James and John wanted, they were moved with indignation
against the two brethren. Oh, how enraged they were at
the presumption of these two self-seeking, sinful men. And
the reason they felt that way is because they were no different.
You can be sure of that. They felt like they ought to
be exalted to the right hand. It wasn't that they were just
such good people. They were just, you know, righteously
indignant that they had acted this way. But Jesus called them
unto him and he said, You know that the princes of the Gentiles
exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise
authority upon them. But it shall not be so among
you, but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister. And whosoever will be chief among
you, let him be your servant, even as the Son of Man came not
to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life
a ransom for many." Now, may the Lord give us the grace to
be addicted to being servants to the saints. You know how significant
a saint is? You know what it means, sanctified
one, sanctified by the Father in election, sanctified by the
Son in redemption, and sanctified by God the Holy Spirit in regeneration.
It's the name that's most often used to describe the Christian,
a saint. Here's how significant a saint
he is. The Lord says regarding all of his people, inasmuch as
you've done it to the least of these, my brethren, you've done
it to me. He didn't say, it's as if you've
done it to me. He said, you've done it to me. That's how real
and vital union with Christ is. I love the way he said in that
Matthew chapter 25, I was, I was hungry and you fed me. And isn't
that what we do in the preaching of the gospel? I was naked and
you clothed me. I was sick and in prison, and
you visited me." Isn't that what we do in the preaching of the
gospel? And you're all just as involved in the preaching of
the gospel as I am. When did we do these things?
We didn't know about it. Inasmuch as you've done it to
the least of these, my brethren, you've done it to me. had departed, apparently. It seemed like he had apostatized. I wonder what all people said
about him. What ever happened to Mark? What
happened to that guy? Where did he go wrong? How did
he go bad? I'm sure this was the talk of
the early church because he was a very significant believer. He was following the Lord when
all the twelve forsook him and fled. He seemed to depart and
stand aloof, but the Lord brought him back. You know, the Lord, I hesitate
to use this word. I don't know how else to use
it. He's the God of second chances, third chances, fourth chances,
973rd chances, 10 billion chances. I mean, the Lord just, he restores
over and over again. Take Mark and bring him with
you. He's possible to me for the ministry. May the Lord put me and you into
the ministry. Let's pray together. Lord, how we thank you for the
ministry of the Word, how we thank you for the ministry of
the Spirit, the ministry of the New Testament, the ministry of
the testifying of the gospel of the grace of God. Lord, how
we thank you for the ministry of reconciliation and how we
thank you for the ministry of the saints. And Lord, we ask
in Christ's name that you would put each of us into the ministry. Bless this message for your glory
and for our good. In Christ's name we pray, amen.