The Secret of Your Success

Scripture Passage: Mark 10:32-45

• people with accomplishments
• people with power/influence
• people with wealth

There are many seminars, books, and programs designed to make you successful.  Here is my seminar on success in 3 easy steps - and its absolutely free!

Main Point:

Success is a worthy goal found not in the desire for it nor in the accomplishments from it but in humble service.

Outline:

1. To be successful, you need a great leader.

2. To be successful, you need to ask for help.

3. To be successful, you need to serve others in your community.

1. To be successful, you need a great leader.

³²They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. ³³"We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, ³⁴who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise." (Mark 10:32-34, NIV)

A leader is one who leads - He is out in front...

Jesus was "leading the way" (v32) - one of the ways He lead the disciples was in a highly relational, mentoring model.

Q: Do you have a mentor - someone older, wiser who helps you along in life?

• Mentoring contributes greatly to the person success of many, many people.

First, the culture today has created a relational vacuum. God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone" (Gen. 2:18 NIV). I believe this has a general application to the needs of men and women for relationships with one another. The need is becoming apparent.

Second, many leaders today commend the relational-mentoring model as one which contributed to their success. The striving of people today to be successful leads them to emulate those who have made it to the top.

Third, the fact that quality learning occurred in the Bible through mentoring relationships has not been lost to believers. Look at the how the Promise Keepers movement has grown across America. Its emphasis is on small accountability groups. Even a women's movement has started patterned after Promise Keepers. Believers can readily see there is value in one-on-one learning. I know in my own life that some of my best learning experiences have been in small groups or having lunch with people who have been in Christ far longer than myself.

A leader knows the direction to follow...

Jesus was "leading the way" (v32) - He provided direction to an often times clueless group of disciples.  To be successful, you and I must follow where the LORD Jesus leads.  This may mean major life adjustments if He leads you to a new job in a new city or it may mean minor adjustments to change the channels on the TV you are watching - or even to turn the TV off at times.  The point is that Jesus will lead you.  Will you follow?

Jesus "told them what was going to happen" (v32) - Jesus helped the disciples understand the events that were to unfold.  His arrest and execution should not have been a surprise because Jesus warned them of this many times.  It is much easier to be successful when you know the direction you are headed and what is likely to transpire when you get there.  Does God share the future with you?  Sometimes He does.  Most often He prepares you for what He is about to do.  He leads you through situations and life-training that prepares you what lies ahead.  So when you get there, you have something to use and something to contribute.

A leader is resolutely determined...

Jesus said, "We are going up to Jerusalem" (v33) - Much of Jesus' success can be attributed to His determination.  He was resolute about going to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51) because He knew without a doubt it was the Father's will for Him to go there.  His mission on Earth could not be fulfilled any other way than for Jesus to go into the heart of the opposition to His gospel.  There He knew He would be tortured and killed by His enemies.  Nevertheless, He followed God the Father's plan with the end in mind - that He would rise again.  You and I must tackle life with this same resolute faith.  God has a plan for us and the end plan for our lives is the resurrection of our bodies to eternal life.  Resolutely following the path the LORD Jesus leads us on, keeping the end goal in mind, will make us successful.

To have any hope of being successful in a confusing world, you and I need a great leader to follow.  That leader is the LORD Jesus.

2. To be successful, you need to ask for help.

35Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask."
36"What do you want me to do for you?" he asked. 37They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."  38"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" 39"We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared." (Mark 10:35-40, NIV)

We started this series on Mark by introducing Jesus as a great helper - because we all need help.  But what a shame it is to have a great helper and never ask for help!

There was a man who was sitting a traffic light in a terrible traffic jam.  When the light turned green - and his car stalled.  No matter how hard he tried, the car just would not start.  Of course, all the cars behind him tried to help by incessantly honking their horns.  Finally the man got out and walked back to the car behind him.  "I'm sorry," he said to the driver, "but I can't seem to get my car started.  If you'll go up there and give it a try, I'll stay here and blow the horn for you."

James and John came to Jesus and made a request.  What better place to go for help than to the LORD Jesus? 

James and John certainly had lofty goals - they wanted to sit on either side of Jesus on His throne. 

Q: Is is a sin to be ambitious?

Q: Is it necessary to be ambitious to be successful? 

Success is defined by a goal or goals and movement toward those goals.  James and John were shooting for the very tope but they had no plan to earn those positions - They were looking for Jesus to go ahead and lock them in.  Jesus is a strong enough leader to put up with a little over ambitiousness and helps the young disciples understand their place. 

It was Jesus Himself who said:

9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!  (Matthew 7:9-12, NIV)

Prayer to the LORD Jesus for help, guidance, direction, whatever impacts your life is not only necessary it is crucial to your success.  The LORD works in different ways in your life.  But the fact that He desires a close, personal relationship with you makes your prayer time a beautiful experience to be relished not rushed.  Don't forget to pray about it - whatever it is.

The cool thing about a relationship with the LORD Jesus is that He will never give you a stone when you ask for bread or a snake when you ask for a fish.  He will not belittle your true needs nor will He forsake you in your time of need.  James and John asked for something that they had no right to simply ask to be bequeathed to them.  And it was not even something that Jesus was authorized to do.  Instead, He commended their zeal and set them straight about the exalted position they desired.

Success will require that you get help along the way.  This means you will have to ask for help from one who has the power and the wisdom to help you according to your true need.

3. To be successful, you need to serve others in your community.

41When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:41-45, NIV)

So the ambition of James and John caused quite a stink in the group of disciples.  How did Jesus respond when the group relationships began to suffer?

Jesus called them together (Mark 10:42, NIV)

Jesus took a group of immature, self-centered people and turned their lives around.  He did it by bringing them together.  Community life is important for people.  We are not meant to be lone rangers.  As the "body of Christ" on Earth, we are meant to gather together - this is how we grow and learn ... from each other.  For the Holy Spirit resides in every believer, male and female.  When we gather together, His Spirit in each of us works to strengthen each other, building bonds of love between us, and speaks through each of us.

15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:15-16, NIV)

Wherever you gather, be there.  Do not checkout mentally and emotionally.  Engage and participate because you have something important to share "as each part does its work" (Ephesians 4:16, NIV).  God's people will help you become successful.

The disciples were part of a community. There are different circles of community for you:

• Family
• Neighborhood
• Friends
• Church
• Workplace

Jesus taught us how to be successful in any of these communities: "43...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all" (Mark 10:43-44, NIV). 

The LORD Jesus provided the ultimate example of humble service.  The King of kings, with Heaven as His throne and Earth as His footstool, left the glory and shrouded Himself in human flesh.  He walked the dusty roads of the Promised Land to fulfill the promise He Himself had made.  It was not a walk of glory but of humility.

So you should serve your way to greatness.  Hey, that would make a great book title:  "Serve your way to greatness," a tennis autobiography by Andy Roddick.

Success depends on service.

Success is not rare.  It is common.  It is a matter of adjusting one's efforts to obstacles and one's abilities to a service needed by others.  There is no other possible success.  But most people think of it in terms of getting;  success, however, begins in terms of giving.

Q: Who do you think said this profoundly spiritual quote?

• Henry Ford who revolutionized the automobile industry with mass-production techniques.

The desire to be successful cannot be a desire to be first or a desire for honor/prestige.  True success endures long past your efforts.

Give yourself in service of others and you will find yourself and your success.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45, NIV)

Conclusion

Think about the way in which you could be serving the LORD Jesus today.  Now I'm not talking about becoming a missionary or a preacher - although some of you may be called to one of those honorable roles.  But I am talking about serving others in the particular way that God has gifted you by His grace. 

Q: How will you find that role that you can particularly fill?

• You will need a great leader.

Q: How will you set the right goals to get the experience you need and find the opportunities to serve?

• You will need to ask for help.

Q: Will you pursue success through serving others or will you be a disobedient Christian?

• That's a personal answer. 

But staying on the sidelines is not an option for the Christian.  The King of kings came to serve.  Can you truly say you are following the King of kings if you are not also serving?

© 2010. Randy Lariscy.  All rights reserved.