VOICE OF THE TEACHER #7

Mark 10:17-45
March 22, 2009
with Adam Waters

I hate going to the eye doctor. Uncomfortable – Air in your eyes – Nose piece – walking around blind – more? It isn’t until the entire exam is over that you can see clearly… or maybe even until you get your new lenses.

READ: MARK 10:17-45

When Zeke was a baby and I was really tired, I would find myself laying in some odd positions. One of them was with my feet up on a chair kind of hanging upside-down. When you’re in that position, you see a lot of things you normally wouldn’t: tape seems in the ceiling, dirt underneath the table, a missing dog-ball, cobwebs, etc. Most of us struggle with seeing something new in the Kingdom because we keep looking at things from the same angle. The people of Jesus’ day struggled mightily with this because of their own presuppositions and the confused-teaching of the religious teachers.

THE TEACHER’S VOICE
The truth is: we have to see things through God's lense and it might look a little like an Upside Down Kingdom
• Just following the rules won’t get you in. (10:17-27) In fact, the can distance us from relationship.
• Money won’t get you in. It goes against the health and wealth gospel we're taught.
• We need to spend time investing in heavenly riches. (10:28-31)
• Those with thrones will encounter suffering. (10:32-40) Maybe the thrones on either side of Jesus are "bitter" because they are crosses!
• Just following Jesus’ will get you in.(10:41-45) Leadership in the Kingdom involves radical submission to others.

We must tune our ears to a different station…
• We are challenging you to live like what God has to say actually matters!
• If what he is saying matters, then we need to start looking at our world through different lenses.

Our eyes tend to llok at our world through our own selfish filters of things like: religion, politics and economics.

God's lense has one solitary filter: LOVE!
**God knew what needed to change for the rich man's life to focus on love.
**He knew what needed to change for the disciples filters to focus on love.
**He understood what needed to change for James and John.

How do we change our filter?
A. It will be hard on you camels to go through the eye of a needle.
B. God alone can do it 10:27.
C. What hinders your focus? We must learn the reliance of an infant with our Father.