2023.10.22 Disciplines: Defending Your Soul
Notes
Transcript
Disciplines: Defending Your Soul
Disciplines: Defending Your Soul
Proverbs 13:1-6 • Matthew 16:21–28
21 From that time Jesus began to point out to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem and to suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised up on the third day.
22 And yet Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You!”
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but men’s.”
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.
25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26 For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul?
27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every person according to his deeds.
28 “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
Context:
Jesus starts talking about his death.
Peter says, “That won't happen!”
Jesus makes his famous statement to Peter, “Get behind me Satan!”
“You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men!”
So, we can infer that our Life Goal should be: Having in mind the things of God … unless, of course, you want Jesus to call you Satan!
Having in mind the things of God - two questions...
How do we have the things of God in mind?
Why would we do that?
First, let’s look at How?
Deny himself
Author John Sterling: The worst education which teaches self-denial, is better than the best which teaches everything else, and not that.
John Sterling (1848). “Essays and Tales: Fragments from the travels of Theodore Elbert. Thoughts. Tales and apologues”, p.184
Jesus said, greater love has no one than to lay down his life… Self-sacrifice/Self-denial
Philippians 2:3
3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves;
Philippians 2:3-6 (Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase The Message)
3 Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead.
4 Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
5 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.
6 He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what.
Take up his cross
Publisher and author Elbert Hubbard: I would rather have a big burden and a strong back, than a weak back and a caddy to carry life's luggage.
--Harry Persons Taber, Elbert Hubbard (1912). “The Philistine: A Periodical of Protest”
Training! Develops strength
You can cut corners with things like diet pills and steroids, but weight training is the only real way to develop strength
1 Timothy 4:7-9
7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.
What does Jesus mean when he says “Follow me”?
The Greek word translated “Follow” here has three different definitions:
Follow … to come later in time
Morning follows night time.
Follow … as in pursue
Police follow criminals until they find and apprehend them.
Follow … to imitate or copy someone
John's disciples followed John in wearing sack cloth and eating locusts.
Whether Jesus is telling us to pursue him or to imitate him, “following” is an Act of the Will!
FOLLOWING is a CHOICE!
Following Jesus begins with choosing to follow him. If we don’t actively choose to follow him, we will not follow him.
So, WHY should we follow Jesus?
Matthew 16:25-26
25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26 For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul?
Jesus tells us that if we follow him, we will “find life”
We will not “save” our life … only He can do that
Plainly put … without Him … you are LOST!
If you want life, you must lose your own life for his sake!
That’s what it means to be “Born again” … your life must come to an end and His must have a beginning in your life
Following Jesus is the only way to not “forfeit” your soul
· “forfeit” Greek – suffer damage/loss, forfeit, sustain injury — and there’s is also an implication that this loss is a form of punishment.
--William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 428.
Disciplines: Defending Your Soul
Disciplines: Defending Your Soul
As we consider our present condition, many of us are still holding on to our lives!
Grasping to hold onto our lifestyle.
Grasping to hold onto our luxuries.
How many of us are grasping to hold onto JESUS?
We know that anything we really want in life takes discipline
We have a few doctors in the congregation. No one becomes a doctor without discipline.
We have some engineers. No one becomes an engineer without discipline.
We have some auto mechanics. No one becomes an auto mechanic without discipline.
Heck! It takes discipline to be a garbage collector! It takes discipline to flip hamburgers!
Anything you want in life takes discipline - and it’s hard sometimes.
If you want the inheritance Jesus offers, it takes discipline.
We must be willing to follow because our soul hangs in the balance
The modern Church doesn’t talk much about spiritual Disciplines. But disciplines are imperative if you want to live the Christian life. Just as we humble ourselves with ashes at the start of Lent … throughout the year, we should submit ourselves to Christian disciplines in order to follow Jesus closer and protect our souls. Disciplines like Bible Study; regular worship; fasting; Devotional reading
Disciplines are not an act of legalism! Discipline is simply training!
Sometimes spiritual disciplines are more structured and regimented, like Bible Study, and regular prayer times, and devotional practices, or Holy Communion.
Sometimes spiritual disciplines look different for each individual like how we serve others, or worship.
But one thing is sure. We must TRAIN in order to become more like Him. If we don’t, we will harden and grow crusty.
The Bible describes us as clay in God's hands. Discipline keeps us maleable so He can form us into whatever shape or item he wants us to be.
In your spiritual life — Are you hardened clay, or soft, moldable clay?
Discipline will soften you just like a potter kneading clay softens it before it’s fashioned into a beautiful, useful piece of workmanship.
“Lose My Soul” - TobyMac
Father God I am clay in Your hands
Help me to stay that way through all life's demands
'Cause they chip and they nag and they pull at me
And every little thing I make up my mind to be
Like I'm gonna be a daddy whose in the mix
I'm gonna be a husband who stays legit
And I pray that I'm an artist who rises above
The road that is wide and filled with self love
Everything that I see draws me
Though it's only in You that I can truly see
That it's a feast for the eyes a low blow to purpose
And I'm a little kid at a three ring circus
Disciplines: Defending Your Soul
Disciplines: Defending Your Soul
The world is going to try and distract you with all kinds of things.
“'Cause they chip and they nag and they pull at me!”
Toby Mac’s “chip and nag and pull” may look different than yours,
but you ARE being assaulted in this life!
Question is … Are you clinging to your life, or are you ready to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus?
It's only in denying yourself that you can truly live!
Chorus of that song repeats...
[Capo 1]
D A Em — G
I don't wanna gain the whole world and lose my soul
Don’t wanna walk away let me hear the people say
Disciplines: Defending Your Soul
Disciplines: Defending Your Soul