Be Last | Mark 9:33-50
Genesis 3:4-5
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Isaiah 66:2
2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
Micah 6:8
8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,[a] and to walk humbly with your God?
Colossians 3:12
12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
Pride Destroys Unity
Pride Creates Exclusivity
Pride Provokes Others to Stumble
Pride Hinders Sacrificial Living
Mark 9:33-34
33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.
Pride Destroys Unity
Mark 9:35
35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
Humility Says Others First – Not Be First
Mark 9:36-37
36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them,37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
Pride Creates Exclusivity
Mark 9:38
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,[a] and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”
Mark 9:39-40
39 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. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us.
Mark 9:41
41 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.
Philippians 1:18-20
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
Humility Says Serve ALL – Not be Better Than ALL
Mark 9:42
42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,[a] it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
Mark 9:43-48
43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell,[a] to the unquenchable fire.[b] 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
Humility Escapes Sin- Not Endorses Sin
Hebrews 13:7
7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
Mark 9:43-48
43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell,[a] to the unquenchable fire.[b] 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
Pride Destroys Unity
Pride Creates Exclusivity
Pride Provokes Others to Stumble
Pride Hinders Sacrificial Living
Mark 9:49-50
49 For everyone will be salted with fire.[a] 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Romans 12:1-2
12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.[b] 2 Do not be conformed to this world,[c] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.[d]