Rev. David Holwick J
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
March 11, 2018
Matthew 20:20-28
DRINKING YOUR WAY TO THE TOP
I. Are you aiming for the pinnacle?
A. A few records stand the test of time.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Steven
Petrosino is the Beer Chugging World Champion.
On June 22, 1977, at the Gingerbread Man bar in Carlisle,
Pennsylvania, he drank 1 liter of beer in 1.3 seconds.
This beat the previous record by 56% and has not been surpassed
in almost 41 years.
B. Plenty of people would like to challenge it.
A survey on alcohol consumption was conducted by the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
One researcher used the data to break weekly alcohol consumption
into deciles [DES-ills], or groups of ten percent.
The bottom three deciles, or 30 percent of Americans, say they
don't drink at all.
The fourth decile consumes .02 drinks per week, which works
out to a single drink per year.
The next decile consumes about 7 drinks per year.
The sixth decile consumes 32 drinks a year.
So, 60 percent of Americans aged 18 and over consume half a
drink or less a week.
Are you surprised?
Moving on:
The seventh decile consumes 2.17 drinks per week.
The eighth decile consumes 6.25 drinks per week.
While one daily drink could be justified for the heart health
benefits of red wine, it still means they drink more than
70% of us.
The ninth decile consumes 15.28 drinks per week, or 2 per day.
But if you're a high achiever and want to be in the top decile,
you have to consume almost 74 drinks a week, or 10 a day.
That is almost 2 six-packs per day, with no days off.
Put another way, the top 10% of drinkers account for more than
HALF of all alcohol consumed in the United States.
#66035
C. It is great to excel, but it is wise to choose a worthy goal.
1) It you are to be known for anything, wouldn't it be good
to excel at faithfulness, and humility, and service?
2) How are you doing in that contest?
II. It all began with a stage mother.
A. The mother of two disciples approached Jesus with a request.
1) She wanted her sons to be honored in heaven.
a) One on the left, one on the right - the highest places.
b) This mom wasn't settling for anything half-way.
2) All moms want their kids to do well.
a) Even bad ones.
Just this week, an Oscar was awarded for the portrayal
of an aggressive stage mother.
Allison Janney portrayed Tonya Harding's evil mom, who
cursed at Tonya and hit her and demeaned her until
she was an Olympic-level skater.
The mother wanted her daughter to be a champion, not
to love her.
b) Christian moms should have more worthy goals.
1> They should want their kids to be saved.
2> I think it is good to hope for even more than that,
that your kids be exceptional Christians.
3> So the unnamed mother's request is not bad or
sinful, she just looks bad for asking.
c) The other disciples were indignant - but only because
they wanted the top seats themselves.
1> Jesus has just been talking about his passion and
suffering.
2> They are talking about their privilege and status.
B. What would a supreme Christian look like?
1) In our minds, we all have an image of a super-Christian.
a) They would be kind and loving to even the meanest
and ugliest person.
b) They would be morally brave in the face of injustice
and evil.
c) They would have a deep knowledge of the Bible and
feel like Jesus is at their side at all times.
d) They would radiate joy and confidence in the face of
any calamity or challenge.
2) Do you resemble this kind of Christian at all?
C. Perhaps the question defeats the purpose.
1) Wanting to be best Christian is like wanting to be the most
humble person in the world.
a) Someone must achieve it - there is a person out there
who is the absolute best Christian.
b) It is like the West Virginia teachers who are upset at
being the 48th state in teachers' pay - doesn't
someone have to be 48th?
1> At least they're not 50th!
2> It would be interesting to know who is the #1
Christian in New Jersey, right now....
2) The problem with spiritual supremacy is that you lose by
trying for it.
a) Winning this kind of contest should be a surprise for
the winner.
b) When they receive the crown they should have a stunned
look on their face.
c) It is interesting that in the parable of the Sheep and
the Goats, the sheep are surprised to find out they
will be honored for serving Jesus - they had no
idea they had done that.
3) So to be the greatest Christian, you have to do it in
guileless and ignorant bliss.
III. What do you have to do to become the best Christian?
A. We often think of spiritual dedication.
1) Read your Bible more.
2) Spend ten times as much time in prayer.
3) Witness to twenty times as many people.
4) Triple your giving to the church.
B. All of these may be commendable, but it betrays a mentality.
1) It is a list of accomplishments.
a) I have to do more to be the best.
2) Jesus also has a list, and it is much different than ours.
a) It is so different he has to tell them (the boys were
addressed as well as the mom) that they don't know
what they are asking.
b) They are ignorant of some critical facts.
c) That is, greatness involves suffering and serving.
C. The hard reality about honor in heaven.
1) To be #1 as a Christian, you have to drink a hard cup.
a) This is an allusion to a common metaphor in the
Old Testament: the cup of God's wrath.
1> The prophets often speak of it, usually in regard
to sinners who have to consume God's judgment
because of their rebellion against God.
2> It is always bitter, especially the last dregs.
b) This cup came to be a symbol of severe suffering.
2) Jesus drank the hard cup. Matthew 26:39
a) When Jesus was praying in the garden of Gethsemane, he
asks his Father to take this cup away from him.
b) It is obvious he is talking about his crucifixion.
c) It is also obvious that it wasn't taken away, and he
had to drink it in full.
3) All Christians must drink from the cup as well.
a) Jesus promises the two disciples this.
1> James became the first Christian martyr.
2> His brother John was exiled to a small island,
where he wrote the book of Revelation.
b) Other passages show that all Christians will suffer for
the sake of Jesus.
Christian author Greg Jarrell recently wrote:
"Among the unavoidable claims of the gospel is that
those following in the way of Jesus will be wounded.
The Way [of Jesus] leads to abundance, but it is not
painless."
[1]
IV. Get to the top from the bottom.
A. Don't do it like the government.
1) Jesus contrasts God's way with the world's way, and uses
the government as an example.
a) Government leaders love throwing their weight around.
2) Lording it - recent case of a cabinet official.
Tom Price, the recent Health and Human Service Secretary,
used more than $500,000 of taxpayer money to fly at
least 24 flights on private jet.
An investigative website found that one of his flights
cost the government $17,760 when he could have gotten
a regular ticket for $202.
When it was exposed, Price decided to resign. [2]
a) This kind of behavior has happened in almost every
administration, Republican or Democrat.
b) It is just the way the world operates - I am important,
so I deserve to be pampered.
B. Christians should do it differently.
1) Go to the back of the line and do the little stuff.
2) Focus on the needs of others.
a) How can you serve?
1> Pick one needy person
2> find a need in the community.
3> Do it anonymously.
b) A vivid illustration from the Russian Gulag.
This comes from a true account of an American who was imprisoned
in Soviet Russia's concentration camps for 45 years.
It is told by Victor Herman in his autobiography,
"Coming Out of the Ice."
His first imprisonment was in Cell 39, five-and-a-half feet wide
and ten feet long with a boarded up window at the far end.
Along each wall were two benches on which 16 men sat.
Closest to the door was a latrine that was emptied once every
ten days.
Existence in Cell 39 was nothing but torture.
The stench from the latrine was choking.
The men were forbidden to talk or move.
From dawn to darkness they were forced to sit silent and
motionless and stare at a hole in the cell door.
At night they lay on the cold stone floor like eggs in a carton.
Every inch of space was occupied; the slightest movement to
relieve an ache was purchased at a cellmate's expense.
After only 24 hours there, Herman was on the verge of madness.
He doubtless would have gone mad had he not sensed that one of
the cellmates was looking out for the others.
The cellmate was known simply as "the Elder".
He sat closest to the latrine, where the stench was strongest.
And he sat nearest to the door, which exposed him to the
senseless blows of the guards.
The Elder did two things every day.
He counted out 16 bowls of soup as they came through the feeding
hole in the cell door to insure that no one received less
than his share.
He also allowed no one to begin eating until all had been served.
His second task was to give a signal twice each night for the
men to change sleeping positions.
This prevented unbearable cramping when morning arrived.
Herman knew nothing more about the Elder, but his role in
Cell 39 restrained 16 men from erupting in a mad dogfight
for food, space, and air.
Cell 39 is a model of Christian leadership.
It tells us that in every situation in life, no matter how
plain or grim, there is need for a servant-leader.
But it tells something more:
Only the person who sits closest to the latrine, as it were,
and who is most exposed to the blows of the system,
can claim authority to lead and serve.
The authority of a servant stands in inverse proportion to
his claims for himself. #30
V. The supreme example is Jesus himself.
A. He served others throughout his ministry.
1) Caring for the sick.
2) Feeding the hungry.
3) Christians and churches still do this today.
B. Jesus gave the ultimate service by becoming our ransom.
1) Ransom - a price paid to free others from bondage.
2) It is a hard concept.
a) It means we deserve to be condemned, but Jesus takes
our penalty upon himself.
b) In the Old Testament, being ransomed was considered
too good to hope for.
Psalm 49:7-9 says,
"No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a
ransom for him
-- the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever
enough
-- that he should live on forever and not see decay."
c) Some believe being ransomed is too BAD to be believed.
1> This week I read an essay by a very liberal Baptist
who thought it made God look petty and punitive.
A> He preferred unconditional love and free
forgiveness from God. Who wouldn't?
B> He also felt our problem is not the penalty of
our sin, but the power of it.
1: Our greed, pride, and hatred ruin us. #66033
2> I believe sin has both a penalty AND a power.
A> Jesus pays our penalty.
B> By relying on Jesus day by day, we can break
its power over us as well.
C. As Jesus has served you, try to serve him. Be the best at it!
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] “A gospel torn in two by a white Jesus,” by Greg Jarrell, Baptist News,
March 5, 2018; <link>.
[2] “The extravagance of Trump's cabinet,” by Talha Afzal, October 3, 2017;
<link>.
# 30 “Cell 39, A Model of Christian Service,” by James R. Edwards,
Christianity Today magazine, February 5, 1988, page 66.
#66035 “Drinking Your Way To the Top,” by Alli Sands, adapted by
Rev. David Holwick, December 17, 2013; <link>.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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