24.160 | DIFFERENT BUT NOT AGAINST | Mark

God’s Word for Today
4 Jul, 2024
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
-Mark 9:38-41 ESV
DIFFERENT BUT NOT AGAINST
After learning the lesson about greatness, John told Jesus, ”Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.”[NLT] They don’t learn the lesson on humility, do they? The disciples assume they are first and will have the most authority. They're still being too exclusionary. The fact that this man, apparently, was successful where the disciples themselves had recently failed. This could be a blow to their pride also. How often do we discourage someone who has success where we failed?
Paul talks about this when he rebukes the church in Corinth for claiming to follow human leaders, either Apollos or Peter or himself (1 Cor 1:12). Such thinking leads to ungodly tribalism or schism. We are all servants of the Lord, are we not? (1 Cor 3:3-5). Anyone who is not against us is for us. This is an important point that we modern believers often forget. It is good to study the Bible and learn the details of theology. It's not bad to discuss issues with people who have different views. What is bad is to vilify anyone who differs in their beliefs or views. Our enemy is not flesh and blood but evil spiritual forces (Eph 6:12). If we follow Christ, we should encourage any work that builds His kingdom and intentionally avoid building our own. There is no ‘us’ versus ‘them’ but ‘we’ in God’s family. Should others are different, it does not mean that they are against us.
Let’s be like Paul in being magnanimous in attitude, that is, esteeming others as better than ourselves. [Phil 2:3] When Paul was imprisoned in Rome, he was maligned by other preachers. They preached Christ to ‘add afflictions’ to his life. Yet, he was thankful and joyful that the gospel had been preached. His agendum is the advancement of the gospel. [1 Cor 2:2, Gal 6:14]
There should not be competition among God’s children. The popular preacher is no better than somebody who does the simplest deed in the name of Christ. Jesus has assured this by saying, “For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” Both the one in the limelight and in secret receive their respective rewards.
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Amen. Thank you Pastor Sinon for sharing the Word of God. 🙏🏻❤️