Seeking Jesus' Approval and Understanding

Speaker 1 0:30

And we're in chapter 20 today . So if you want to open a Bible up or you want to turn one on , there's free downloads you can do through like YouVersion . That's a great way to do it . I'm in chapter 20 , verse 20 , 20 , 20 . Here we go , and today is a reminder of myself , as I've been walking through this this week and studying this , of why I love what we've been doing , which , again for those of you who are new with us we've been doing , which , again for those of you who are new with us , we've been walking literally verse by verse , and taking our time to understand and not miss anything in these stories , in the life of Jesus and what he was teaching us and the interactions that he was having . And today I feel like it's just actually one of those that oftentimes we can skim over and maybe even miss some of the beauty and understanding of who's participating . Where do we connect what we can learn from everyone in this story and I'll talk about it at the end of the message today , but I'm even hopeful that it will help you in the way that you interpret or understand , might actually give you some insight to your own heart and the way that you view God or have viewed God as a father , a loving father , or someone who is correcting or reprimanding . And so this story is going to tell us some stuff . We're going to discover that . So I'll go ahead and read our verses for today and then we'll hop in .

Speaker 1 1:49

So it says in Matthew , chapter 20 , verse 20 , then the mother of the Zebedee's sons . These are we've talked about before , the sons of thunder . This is James and John . Like it's got to be a strong mom , because these were food callers , they were fishermen before Came to Jesus with her sons . So she brought them and , kneeling down , asked the favor of Jesus . What is it that you want , he asked . She said , grant , one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom . You don't know what you're asking . And so Jesus then said to them the boys are there . Can you drink the cup that I'm about to drink ? The boys are there . Can you drink the cup that I'm about to drink ? We can , they answered . So Jesus said to them you will indeed drink from my cup , but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant . These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my father . So let's go and hop in right after that . So what is she asking ? There's this mom , right , but there's also this other thing we need to understand that the Jews understood that there was present day and then there was this kingdom future , that the kingdom of heaven was this far off future thing that happens at the end . It's kind of like modern day .

Speaker 1 3:15

If some of those of you still have grandparents that were around for the war , that's how they broke up the world . It was before the war . After the war , like everything , the world was broken into two pieces before World War II , before or after World War II started . And to the Jews , it was before the kingdom came and after the kingdom came . Before the world's this disaster . It's filled with destruction and poverty and awfulness and evil , and yet one day God was going to bring about his kingdom .

Speaker 1 3:42

And one thing that you and I have to understand is that , when Jesus came , part of what he was trying to say is he was trying to say I'm trying to bring part of that kingdom actually here now , in the present , not just this future thing . That's why he told us to pray in the Lord's prayer your kingdom come , your will be done on earth and not just something far off into the future . You know this idea of I hope God moves and works someday to actually defeat evil and sin . What we get to understand is he has already done this in the person and in the work of Jesus . But what she's asking is when that time comes , because she doesn't really understand I think a lot of people they did not understand that Jesus is saying a piece of the kingdom is here , that's right now , and then there's a piece not yet here . She's saying that when that time comes , can my two sons sit at your right and left , can they be close to you in a part of this ? And so let's just zone in on a couple things that we see here just right off the bat .

Speaker 1 4:42

The first one is this she says this and makes this request , kneeling before him , this posture . Let's just stop for a moment and understand the posture of this woman before Jesus , kneeling in reverence , brought her sons . See , the world is divided up really into two different kinds of people People who have bowed and kneeled to Jesus and people who haven't . This room is divided up between people who have knelt before Jesus and said you get to be in control of my life , like you get the control of my money , my sex life , my worldview , the way that I deal with my family , the way that I parent , the way that I interact with other people . I kneel before you , jesus , and you . I let you be in total control . Or the other side of it is I'm in control , control . Or the other side of it is I'm in control . That's the only two things . It's the only two camps that are a part of this .

Speaker 1 5:40

There's no like in the tension in the gray , and there comes a point in our life when the Bible constantly calls us to do this . It comes to a place where you actually either kneel before Jesus , where you don't stay in this middle ground , where you actually come before him and say you get the authority in everything about my life , which maybe for some of you , today's that day where you're going to decide am I going to kneel and bow to Jesus or not . This is what she does . This is what she says kneeling before him . Now look at Jesus's response to that posture . Pause for a moment . What is it you want ? What is it you want Now , if you do ? Just pause for a moment and think about how you frame this moment . Like visualizing , framing this moment , this interaction , maybe even his face , like how many of us have framed this moment like she's a nuisance .

Speaker 1 6:41

This story isn't here just to show us Jesus' frustration and correction , but if we stop for a moment and just remember this key thing God loves you . God loves you . So now reframe this . She comes kneeling in reverence and he sees her and he pauses and he says , not just with his words but with all of him you're worthy of me , you're worthy of me , you're present with me and I am present with you . And he says what do you want ? Or in the gospel of Mark , it says what do you want from me ? What can I do for you ? I love this question .

Speaker 1 7:31

This is so unique that the God of the universe would look at a human being and say what do you want ? Like , what is it that you want ? This is how much he cares for you and me . This is how much he cares about our hearts . It's not just some like disconnected , deistic version of God . He actually enters into our world and he goes what is it that you want ? I see you . What is it that you need ? It's just as if you and I were in a relationship together that I would actually be entering in , humbling myself and say is it ? What is it that you're wanting ?

Speaker 1 8:05

Or you know , we use words like how can I help you ? Like , when you're in a relationship , when I see you and I have care for you and I love you and I want to participate in whatever's going on , what is it that you need ? How can I care for you ? How can I come alongside of you ? What is it you want ? And here we see he's listening to our heart . And here is where you and I have to understand I think that we've lost this idea and gotten disconnected that he says talk to me . He invites us to talk to him , says I'm a good father , I want to hear from you . I actually care about your life . I'm present with you . I want you to know , I want to think about these things with you and I want you to talk about your stuff and how you're feeling and listen . I just want to tell those of you who are afraid to like tell God or come before him with all of your stuff , like your anger , like let's be honest with your anger , your fears and your frustrations . I just wanna encourage you right now . One , he can take it . And two , just read the Psalms .

Speaker 1 9:04

Like , if you ever just go to the Psalms , you read where one minute you know the Psalmist is like Lord , like I don't wanna be in anyone else's presence except yours . Like no matter what's happening in my life , no matter what I'm going through , you are the ultimate person in glory in my life and I don't want to see or touch or talk to or be around anyone else but you . And then , literally like the next Psalm , it's like I hate you , right , never talk to me again . Bad stuff happened to me . I'm going away . Right , that's how we are , and David in the Psalms , they weren't afraid of this . Like some of us are , we're afraid . Like I don't know if he can take it . It's tough talk today , right , like we need to release ourselves so that you're afraid to go .

Speaker 1 9:48

God , I don't understand why this is happening in my marriage right now , like I don't understand why my finances are a disaster . I don't understand about this diagnosis that I got , or my kid got , or my husband got , or whoever like my friend got . Like this , friends , though , is the beauty of the gospel that you get a God who enters in and cares about you and cares about the question that in every other religion is just disconnected . Like how dare you even come before a God and make a request and like can't even fathom the idea that the God of the universe would be like , what is it that you want ? And if we just understand that Jesus , actually that in Jesus , like in the person of Jesus , we actually get to see the God who's been a mystery , who's been behind the veil for history , that then Jesus shows up and says let me explain , like , let me just exegete God to you , like , let me show you that when we see that God is the one , when we see this , we see that God is the one who says what do you want , what do you need ? I think it's really important for us to see this .

Speaker 1 11:03

Another thing that I think we can skim over when we read this a little quickly in this short moment is we miss this the value and care Jesus gave to women . This was culturally radical , this was religiously radical . Like that he would even give the time of day that a woman was allowed to come before him , kneel in reference and then speak to a man , especially a rabbi , a religious man , like culture . This was so radical in that he would pause and give her and ask her a question what is it that you desire ? What do you want ? I'm listening to you . You matter .

Speaker 1 11:49

I think that there's so much of the Bible lays out for us about women . I love the women of the Bible and I could talk a lot about so many women that inspire me , but just if I was looking at New Testament women , the women that are closest to Jesus . I mean . First you have this through the women of Christmas . You had Elizabeth , who was appointed , pointed the way by giving birth to John the Baptist in this miraculous way , the same kind of miracle that happened with Sarah bearing a child at old age . So you know , god was involved . Then Mary like my goodness , what do you even say about Mary ? She's so young gave birth to the Savior of the world and raised him as her son . And then you have Anna . Who's this faithful woman ? She gives us so much hope of what God might have for us . She's the one who actually speaks . She's the one who tells people that he is the Savior , he has come , the Messiah is here , and these three women were really important in the ministry and the birth of Christ . And then you have the women of Easter . You know , as we're in Easter season right now , there was three women and they're all named Mary .

Speaker 1 12:50

This is how you know the story is not fictional , because , like if it was just made up , you'd be like , yeah , we're changing their names , like they can't all be Mary . It's a little confusing , right , like that's how we know this stuff is . Like this is real , it's true . So you have Mary of Bethany she anoints his feet in preparation for his burial . Even the disciples , like the male disciples , didn't believe at that point that Christ was actually going to die , but Mary , by a gift of God , understood and poured out this perfume . And then you have Mary of Nazareth .

Empowering Women in Faith

Speaker 1 13:20

Mary this mature . She was at the foot of the cross that the men have scattered . John is there with her , but there's Mary , his mother , at the foot of the cross and , beyond imagining , none of us can climb into her shoes . And then Mary Magdalene she's the one that Jesus sends back to the disciples to tell about the resurrection , the first deliverer of the gospel , the good news . You know , it's interesting . It wasn't just because she's like the only one there . It wasn't like Jesus rose from the dead and was like I was looking for John or Peter . Actually , mary was the chosen one . She was chosen and she was sent .

Speaker 1 14:02

And these women's stories take my breath away and I'm just so curious . As a guy , as a pastor , as a believer , I wonder for all of us how do these women , just even quickly reading by in a story like this , shape our faith ? What do they say to you , these moms , these women , and how can we encourage women to know that God has a use for them ? You know , I would challenge us to think about if we've ever overlooked stories like these , even this story about a mom , you know , because there's something about how we naturally will naturally relate to people who are like us , look like us , talk like us , deal with our struggles or challenges , and we don't even mean to do that which is like , oh , that's who I connect to , right .

Speaker 1 14:51

But when we do that , when we don't like pull out or slow down and just kind of take a breath and try to understand who these different characters are , we miss people and what we can learn from these people , unless we are intentional to make sure that we're connecting with everybody out there and to be intentional with that , just like he was intentional when he chose Mary . You're like which one ? I know ? I know it's Mary , right , that's a really big deal . So when we shine a spotlight on her , we're doing just exactly what Jesus did . When we're talking about that , we're just following his example and that's the reason why there's a reason why he did this and there's a reason why we have this tradition here at Northgate that you're going to experience next week on Easter , and that is to not hear from me on Easter , which most people look at that as like the Super Bowl of you know church , like , oh , of course , you know you gotta have the starting quarterback , no right .

Speaker 1 15:49

But in our tradition , you get to hear from a wonderful woman , a pastor , a follower of Jesus , share the good news of Easter that he is risen , just like Jesus had a woman do when he rose In the scriptures . I think of Anna . Well , I'll say this real quick Ruthie is coming next week . I cannot wait for you to hear from her and I would say ahead of time will you pray for Ruthie , kim , she , you know I have friends and reach out and figure out . You know , hey , who could come and share with us on Easter and unfortunately it's easy to find most women don't get that . Like I said , that opportunity and so it's also can be overwhelming and a heavy mantle to bear . Because it's Easter , everyone's staring at you like , okay , let's hear it right so you can be praying ahead for Ruthie .

Speaker 1 16:38

But in the scriptures when I think of like Anna , there's so many women who have been faithful in churches where I have served and they've been like the backbone of the church and in churches where I have served and they've been like the backbone of the church and the stories like Anna is encouraging to them , their faithfulness as they serve God in this day in , day out . These women are beautiful examples for encouragement to women and to challenge I think it's important men as they're being faithful to what God has asked of them . I think about Mary's prayer when Jesus was born . I think it's one of the most beautiful passages in the Gospels because Mary demonstrates her humility and helps us actually understand why God chose her , where you compare her sometimes to the disciples who , three different times , argue over who's the greatest right , which one's the best , which one of us is deserving most , deserving to be used by God , and you look at Mary's life and her humility , she sets this example for the disciples .

Speaker 1 17:32

During Easter , we put a lot of emphasis about how the disciples either betrayed or abandoned Jesus , and we don't read about that with any of the women . They're loyal , they stuck with him and that's something that should be pointed to and celebrated and encouraged , and I think that think about the fact that all of the men scatter when Jesus is under trial and the women are still there , and I think that God called them to be there . It wasn't that the guys failed or the women were superior . It was that God's plan all along was for the women to be involved . It's his way of saying to the church of that time I love and I use , I have a use for and I'm pouring out my grace upon men and women and let me just prove that by using them . In a significant day and on the day of resurrection , when the women were at the tomb , not the guys , mary ran back with the news , not a guy , and that wasn't because guys were failures . It was because God wanted to make a real strong statement and I think he did , and it's a really big deal , and that's how he did it . We should pay attention to how intentional the gospels are , to shine the spotlight in a way that , especially then , was huge . It should be huge to us now is trying to figure out like , okay , do I just got to like , you know , kind of go hop around and find ladies of the Bible and like their impact and how valuable they are ? And I was like , well , actually , no , because you can just go to the end of the letter of Romans that Paul wrote and he names a whole handful of women all in a row and how important they are .

Speaker 1 19:16

In chapter 16 , he says I commend you to you , our sister Phoebe , a deacon of the church , and Centraea . I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people , to give her any help she may need from you , for she has been the benefactor of many people , including me . Greet Priscilla and Quilla , my co-workers in Christ . They risked their lives for me . Not only I , but the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them . Greet also the church that meets in their house . Greet Mary , who worked very hard for you . Greet Androsius and Junia , my fellow Jews who've been in prison with me . They are outstanding among the apostles and they were in Christ before I was . Greet Tryphenia and Tryphosa , those women who work hard in the Lord . Greet my dear friends , priests and women who have worked very hard in the Lord . Greet Rufus , chosen in the Lord , and his mother , who has been a mother to me too .

Speaker 1 20:19

The Apostle Paul ends this letter naming 26 people , and 10 of them are women , and most of them are recognized for their ministry role , their impact , and I tend to wonder how did the church ever get to a place where we don't let women do stuff Like you ? Look at the book of Acts and Lydia like funded the church , like they can have money too . Right , planted a church with Paul . Statistically , did you know this ? That women do more in the church than men ? Why ? Well , we know women get things done . They get it done . We all know this .

The Importance of Women in Faith

Speaker 1 20:56

I have learned personally that I'm often dependent upon faithful women in this church , that they are the ones that make it happen . I can look at the women in our church and we are not challenging them very often to volunteer and to be faithful . It's the guys we're typically pushing to like hey , come on , we can step up here . Right , come on , guys . I mean , ask yourself this question how many of you came to church and you experienced church , or you were brought to a church or you experienced Jesus because your mother was the spiritual leader in your house or your life and brought you to the foot of Jesus ?

Speaker 1 21:39

Paul also writing a letter to Timothy . He says I'm reminded of your sincere faith , which first lived in your grandmother , lois , and in your mother , eunice , and I am persuaded that that faith now lives in you . Paul talking about Phoebe and saying that he benefited from a woman , and many people have . And God does not look out at women and say , okay , just have your own quiet spot , just deal with the children , keep your mouth shut , don't have any influence , don't have any impact . These are the leaders , the massive influencers in our life are often women in our life . We have been raised by heroic moms and grandmoms , women , daughters and I want my daughters to hear this too you are going to be this massive influence culturally , all of you . Don't shy away from that . The leading , the influence among us , the things that God has called you to do . All right , now that you're all avoiding me , okay , I'll get off of this . Don't make eye contact , we'll be done with this .

Speaker 1 23:00

We often miss the importance , though , when reading in these moments of women and what we all can learn from this , even in a story like this . So , okay , what does she ask ? What does she ask for ? She says let these two sons of mine sit at your left and your right . Now realize she dragged her boys with her right . It's like they've already been around and it's like she grabbed them . It's like , okay , I think she understood a lot of what was going on and I think she understood a lot of what who Jesus was . Before most of them understood Like she could see it , she knew what was up right here's like this mother she's playing like this mother bear role . Right , like moms get all jacked up about their kids . Right , you know those moms like you're probably one of those moms like you just get fired up about your kids . Like you got mama bear stories , like where you're taking care of business because of your kids .

Speaker 1 23:48

I was talking to my wife and I was like I need a mama bear story . She's like I'm always a mama bear , and I was like I know I need the permission to like give a story about you know your aggressive no . So we were talking . It was actually , just a couple weeks ago , one of my kids got in a lot of trouble and they were getting a consequence and he deserved they deserved a consequence . So they deserved a consequence for this , um , but the consequence was a lot . And so she wrote an email and was mama bear and she sent it to me for and she's like , should I send this ? And I'm like , yeah , you do , you girl ? Like that's a mama bear thing .

Speaker 1 24:23

And it got adjusted because she came there and was like , no , like I'm gonna make'm going to make sure like we understand , like there is , like there is consequences to our decisions , but also like moms are just there , they're going to make sure that this is handled , right , right . So she's like let my two sons , james and John , sit at your side . Like here's this new posture that maybe we can grasp onto . She recognizes that the most important thing that she can do for her two sons is bring them closer to Jesus . She's just heard Jesus predict his death for the third time and it's like she's getting it .

Speaker 1 24:58

Like this kingdom thing , this new thing , this is happening , this is the Messiah , like I'm hearing all of the things that are happening and it is sitting in me and this is very important for us , every single one of us in here that the most important thing about your life is to figure out a way where , if you're not orbiting closely around Jesus , that you get very close to him . This is what she does . She's like come on boys , like let's get close to him , like you just need to be close in his presence , so close that I want you on his right and left , like right next to him forever . And the reason that I want that is because I understand that the goal of my life should be union with Christ , with the God of the universe , and I think a lot of us actually get confused with some of this posture through the language that we're taught or used and we get this burden that comes to it . It's this burden that the goal of life is to be like Jesus .

Speaker 1 25:53

You know someone's looked at you and said you need to be like Christ . You know you even have the wristbands Like what would Jesus do ? Like that's how you need to be . And if you're just trying to be like Jesus , I'm gonna tell you right now it will not work . Because here's the problem If all I do is get up and I tell you be like Jesus . Be like Jesus . Here's the problem . It's going to burden you and it's going to become religion to you . And here's the reality you need Jesus first in order to be like Jesus . You can't just be like Jesus without being close to Jesus , because you don't have the power , you haven't figured out how to connect to it , to actually do it , and so it's just gonna burden you down .

Speaker 1 26:37

Some of you are trying to defeat lust in your life . You're gonna be like I gotta be like Jesus , like I'm gonna stop lust . I don't wanna lust after girls . Right , you're like I gotta be like Jesus , god bless . I don't want to lust after girls . Right , you're like I got to be like Jesus . But here's the problem If you're not pushing closer to him in order to get that power , all you're doing is burdening yourself down because you're like I just got to be like something , rather than experiencing something that actually changes my heart and the way that I think and I do life , and you're just going to burden yourself down and get back into religion mode . You're back to growing up in that church or that church that you didn't wanna be a part of , that says just be like Jesus , just be like this and be like that , don't do this and don't do that , and it's crushing you . It has crushed you and that should not be your goal . It's derivative of something that comes out of an earlier goal , which is okay . Like I gotta get close to him . I gotta get close to him . I gotta get close to him . The language that we use here at Northgate is present . It's part of the represent . You have to be present with him or in his presence and experience and abide and close to the vine to keep getting filled up , and then I get to represent Jesus and all of it's mess . You can't skip that step .

Speaker 1 27:45

And this mom she's looking at her kids and saying you know what ? Come here . You know what the most important thing is in reverence is that you get close to this man forever , because here's the thing every single parent in here has got to embrace this see , we tend to function like we're the most important person in our kid's life and there is a problem with that . It's like one day we're gonna die and you're gonna be gone and you're gonna leave your kid vicariously living their faith out through you and not having a faith of their own the person you need to fight to get your kids to love is not you but Jesus , because even when you're dead and gone , he remains . Jesus is the hope of your kid , not you . That's what this mother understood . I really believe that's what she understood . Like I gotta get my kids to like love Jesus more than they love me . And so she says can you do this ? Can I ask a favor of you ? I just got to make sure that they're close and they're here . And look at his response to this mom you don't know what you're asking . So then he switches . Then he said to him hey boys , can you drink the cup I'm about to drink ? You don't even know what you're asking .

Speaker 1 29:11

There's going to be like this crazy amount of suffering , like the opposite to the prosperity gospel , whatever y'all are thinking , like where you get to come to Jesus , take care of your life and get like a nice car and a nice home and you get like never get sick , right . You get all the promotions . It's like the secret Drive by the car and it'll be yours , it's free , right . All those things like the special water , all this stuff . It's the opposite . It's the opposite . Like it's like the closer you get to me , you're gonna have a cup of suffering . I came as the suffering servant to serve on behalf of another , not on behalf of myself . That's what's going to take place in your life and you can take it if you want . I think it's fascinating .

Speaker 1 29:50

If you look through the New Testament literature and scripture , this picture of discipleship is suffering . Philippians 3 , 10 says not that I might just share in resurrection and new , but that I might share in your suffering . That is insane . What a cup he's saying part of the christian life is . You're gonna have to drink from the cup of suffering in your life that you're not going to be insulated . You're not going to be insulated from your finance problems . You're not going to be insulated from your family turning on you or your friends turning on your marriage . That's difficult . Just because you're close to me doesn't mean you're going to be insulated and protected from these things . That , like life , is actually going to happen to you , and some of you guys are like amen preach . I know it's happening now Because the brokenness of this world , friends , has not been wrapped up yet , and so you're going to get ground up by the world around you and the world we're going to see as we continue to read . This is about to crush Jesus .

Speaker 1 30:45

That's the cup , and he's saying this is the model of discipleship . I want to lay all myself down for all of you who are interested in this . Just understand , though , that this suffering part is part of it , that you don't get resurrection without cross . And so he says are you able to drink from the cup that I'm about to drink ? And I love this . Like what a dude answer . Right here we go . We can . I can only see Jesus , maybe a smirking right here , like maybe even a laugh , and he goes you will indeed drink from my cup . You will indeed drink from my cup , but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant . These places belong for those whom they have been prepared by my Father .

Speaker 1 31:36

Now , interesting for your own study . I'll just highlight this real fast . This is what a lot of theologians look at as like a deprecating statement , like why is this in there ? It should have been taken out . But this also gives us truth to like hey , they're saying all the things that have actually been said , because this little moment where , all of a sudden , jesus we've spent 20 chapters building up he's the Messiah , he's God , he knows everything . Like he understands he came here to do something . I don't know who gets to sit at my right or left , that's for somebody else to decide . And so they're like why would you say that ? So you can do your own study on that , but this is one of those . There's little like Easter eggs , if you will , throughout scripture that points you to why there's so much more truth in here .

Speaker 1 32:17

So where do we land with this story ? Short story we're gonna continue unpacking it in the next couple of weeks . But short story we're going to continue unpacking it in the next couple weeks . But what can we glean from this today ? So I would say for all of us and this is all escape let's ask the deeper question for today , when it comes to your interactions with Jesus , getting close to him , what's your motive ?

Speaker 1 32:46

How do you read this ? What was the motive of this woman getting close to Jesus and trying to get her sons close to him so that they would have power ? Like , do you know how corrupt that is ? You know they can sit at your right . You know , for some of us , we're gonna just be like okay , so like why isn't it just good enough ? And okay if you just save them , or , okay , if they just get to come into the kingdom , you can , like , deal with their sin . Like , what's her motive ? Like , how do you read this ? You can read it a few different ways , some of you have read it a few different ways , but for you , for today , ask yourself this question what is the reason behind the reason that you're here right now ? Question that for a second .

Speaker 1 33:29

The story actually takes us there . What's your motive ? For some kind of benefit for you ? Maybe it's good for your business that you came to Northgate . Maybe you feel like that sports team's gonna win and do good your bracket and March Madness is like it's going up right . Maybe it's just good for you , good for your family , makes you feel good about yourself . Why are you getting close to him ? Why are you orbiting around him

Motives for Believing in Jesus

Speaker 1 33:56

?

Speaker 1 33:57

There are different answers to this question , represented literally in every seat in here . And you get to ask Lord , what's mine ? Is it pure ? And he looks at her and he says what do you want ? What do you want from me ? That's the question . That's the question for you .

Speaker 1 34:22

Could it be ? I want power , I want authority , I want better things , better life , I want not to suffer , a better business , a better family , and for some people it's just . I just want to know you . I just want a taste of you . I just want to grow in you . I just want to get close to you . I just want union with you . I just want to abide in you . I just want to become more like you and carry less of that shame and guilt and stress . And I'm just going through it because it's a cup of suffering . It's the world we live in , but I need a suffering servant to be right there by my side .

Speaker 1 34:54

So let's ask this question of ourselves before I pray for this what's the motive of you getting close to Jesus and putting your faith in Jesus ? Is it pure ? Is it right , or is there some other benefit that you're looking for that's not of him . It's in a worldly thing that you're just clamoring after , and this is what this story raises . What's your motivation for believing in him ?

Speaker 1 35:26

And does the way in which you read this story , the motives of this mother , tell you something about yourself ?

Speaker 1 35:36

Do you read it as her motives are for her kids to be close , taken care of in the presence of Jesus for eternity , and her own example of reverence , kneeling before him for Jesus , or do you read it as she's got an agenda and just wants power and fame and glory for her family and kids ?

Speaker 1 36:01

And that , friends , might be a clue that invites you to unpack your heart , your motivations , and even how you view the father who loves you and how he views the ones he loves . Let's unpack that together . Well , let me pray for you and then we'll respond in worship from today's message . Father , thank you that you have given us your word and that we can slow down and digest and discover the different characters and postures and rediscover you , your posture towards us , your love and care for us . May we shed the things that don't belong and may we come before you of a posture of kneeling and reverence , just trying to figure out how to orbit , to be close to you and , from that , an opportunity to represent and to represent Jesus to those whom we love , to those you love in our community and around the world . Thank you for the gift of your spirit in this place , as we respond and worship to you In your name , we pray amen .