March 11th, 2012
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The Two Types of People That Belong to Jesus Mark 9:38-41
A. Those who act in Jesus' name
"Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.""Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. (38-40)
1) We have difficulty thinking like Jesus
2) Consider who is "for Jesus," not who is "for us"
B. Those who offer a cup of water to Jesus' disciples
I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. (41)
1) Treating people as friends, not as objects to evangelize
2) Consider ways to introduce Jesus to others
Summary
The disciples wanted to remain an exclusive group with regard to doing good works in Jesus' name. Unfortunately, we have the same tendency to reject those whom Jesus has accepted and to assume that the people who are "on our side" are also on "Jesus' side" and judging those we don't like or agree with as being "against Jesus." We also judge others according to our standards even with regard to their salvation. What we really need to do is to exercise humility, knowing that our knowledge and perspectives are very limited compared to that of Jesus. Our job is not to distribute or to withhold "tickets" to heaven. Our calling is to demonstrate with our lives the joy and wonder of following Jesus daily.
For Discussion
1) Why did the disciples want to stop the man who was driving out demons?
2) Who are the people who offer a cup of water to Jesus' disciples?