Defining Success

What are you most proud of in life? What are you most ashamed of?

Feeding of the 4000

Pharisees

Who was Jesus?

Jesus is willing to embrace suffering and death to obey His Father in love.

Jesus is developing your identity - not based on the success/failure game - but on your faith in who He is. Trust and listen to Him.

Taking up your cross - Trust rather than control

Not just self-denial

success in the world

control

Giving up who you think you are to follow Christ. Giving up how you think your life will go.

The Gospel according to Mark Messiahship and Discipleship (8:31–9:1)

It teaches that a proper confession of Jesus involves a new understanding of discipleship. When believers confess who Jesus is, they also and inevitably confess what they must become.

Identity in traditional culture

Identity in modern culture

the pressure in both

the incoherence in both

Religious identity can be both

Jesus is coming to take over. That’s what matters.

Do you know Jesus’ sovereignty?

Listening to Jesus - Trust rather than performance

Trying to contain the information

Trying to preserve the experience

Trying to do something / anything to deserve to be here

Actively or intellectually

Jesus was willing to be treated with contempt to rescue us. This is about God’s love for Jesus not what we can accomplish.

Do you know God’s love for you? Or do you justify your presence by your performance?

Are you listening to Jesus right now?

Prayerful Dependence - Trust rather than power

The disciples could not depend on the gifts/powers given to them but must continue to depend on Christ in prayer.

Service for Christ does not equal dependence on Christ. Therefore successful service for Christ is not based on measurements the world would use like power, numbers, funds, or control. Successful service for Christ trusts His steadfastness and patience rather than our giftedness.

Do you know you can always go to Jesus?

Develop your sense of who you are based on His sovereignty, His love, and His provision.

Accept what comes not as a measure of your success or failure or even God’s success or failure but as an opportunity to know Him more and obey Him more- waiting to hear His “Well done.”

Gospel prayer and Gospel conversation - nothing can derail you more than focusing on your own success/failure.

“Trust and Obey”