Following Jesus - Mark 8:34-9:1

Following Jesus - Mark 8:34-9:1 - 20191215 Truly following Jesus means daily giving your life away for him! Introduction: We often treat life as if we are the ones that make it or break it. We put ourselves at the center. In doing so we determine that it must be by our efforts life is either worthwhile or it is wasted. When we put ourselves in the center, we naturally determine that our judgement of what is happening is the correct judgement. Wasn’t that what we observed Peter doing last week? Peter proclaimed that Jesus was the Christ (Mk 8:29)! Jesus affirmed this and then went on to share what was going to happen in the near future. Mk 8:31-32 “And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly.” What did Peter think of this string of ideas? He had a much different idea of what Jesus was going to accomplish as God’s Messiah, as the Anointed One, didn’t he? And the passage continues, “And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.” When Jesus begin to explain plainly what was about to happen it just didn’t fit into Peter’s paradigm nor did it probably fit into the rest of the disciples’ paradigm. This same type of struggle appears in our lives all the time! It has these important manifestations 1.We think we know what is best and act accordingly and we rarely if ever change because that would cost too much. a.For example, you discover a statement in the Bible that just doesn’t make sense to you and instead of thinking you might be wrong you just dismiss the Biblical text thinking it can’t be authoritative or you write it off as culturally irrelevant instead of thinking you may need to grow in your understanding. b.Today we are going to be faced with the idea of denying one’s self. How foreign - It seems like accepting defeat to deny yourself, so it cannot possibly be what God really means? c.Where else is this message seen? Deny yourself? No where! How could it be right? d.Then the whole concept of honor comes into play. We love to be honored. In our current time in America it is becoming increasingly shameful to be associated with Jesus in the public space. So, what do I do? I consciously or subconsciously keep this part of my life pretty quiet. e.Let me just ask this question and you will see what I mean. When was the last time you openly shared that you believe in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Allusion to the Solution It is by following Jesus every day, by walking in the same manner as him, that life is truly transformed. We move away from the death spiral touted by man and instead prepare for eternal life and exaltation granted by Christ. This all takes place, Jesus says, by denying yourself and by giving your life away! TRANSITION And I know it is counter intuitive to think that by giving your life away that you will be actually gaining life. But that is what we find Jesus telling those he has gathered near to him in this passage. Following Jesus is Costly (v34) a.v34 “And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Jesus is instructing throughout our whole passage today. We are sitting at the feet of Rabbi Jesus this morning church. He has gathered his disciples and those who were near by and this is how he starts his lesson. v34b “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” a.Denying one’s self and taking up a cross that is the heart of Jesus’ message. Do you understand what this message means? b.Paul speaks of this in Phil 3:7-11 and Romans 13:14 c.Christian Scholar and Author Don Carson says, “To deny self means refusing to follow any natural inclination, however innocent, that runs contrary to Christ’s path for us.” i.Jesus has just previously made it known that he would suffer many things, that he would be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes and – amazingly that he would be killed and after three days rise again (v31)! ii.Then here in our first verse for this morning Jesus says if anyone is to come after him that they must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him. iii.He affirmed that he was the Lord’s anointed and that his mission was to suffer and die and rise again. So, what do we do with his teaching? It seems so extreme! So difficult! The idea of following is a constant – daily – active following. This isn’t an easy sale. 1.I can’t help but thinking of you mothers in the congregation. Your lives are undoubtedly full of sacrifice and self-denial as you pour your nearly every waking breath into the care of others. This is Christlike…but it is also an area where you may be tempted to think enough is enough – I’m done! Jesus is saying here keep going, deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me. I’m uncomfortable with this, I mean how much is someone supposed to give? Moms, you came to my mind because in many cases you are already at the extreme and this passage seems to indicate the radical extreme is sustainable through faith in Christ. 2.The only way this is possible, the only way I can see this working, is for the Believer to be utterly filled with the love of Christ. To recognize that their life is no longer their own but belongs to the one who purchased it with his blood. That their daily walk is not carried out by their strength but is only possible by the strength that is given to them through the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the only way and yet I am uncomfortable because it is so extreme! 3.Church this should be a rallying call to all of us to humbly submit ourselves to prayer, to encourage the mothers here in the body, to be sympathetic of their daily walk, and to help lift the burden. 4.Dads, this means you have an opportunity to be Christlike servants in your homes to embrace the call to deny yourself, pick up your cross and daily follow Jesus. 5.If you are a grandparent this means don’t forget that you have a special role to play here in the church and in your kids’ lives. You have been through the crucible of training up children and God has kept you on this earth not so you can simply ease into retirement but so you can continue denying yourself, picking up your cross, and following Jesus. 6.Truly following Jesus means daily giving your life away for Him! TRANSITION Not only is following Jesus costly and self-denying but it also happens to be the only way specified in Scripture. Following Jesus is the Only Way (vv35-37) 1.v35 “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” d.In v35 we get further clarity on what this following after Jesus looks like. He mentioned to his disciples that he was going to be killed – he was going to lose his life – and this was part of God’s sovereign plan. Even when we first come across God’s mentioning of the seed of the woman in the Garden of Eden, the one who would arise and strike the head of the serpent in Gen 3:15 but who in turn would have his heel bruised. This foretelling of Jesus’ future role only takes on more and more clarity as God reveals his plan through the pages of Scripture. e.So, here in v35 Jesus is continuing the theme of what it means to follow him. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me. You might be thinking I would never put myself in the type of scenario where my life would be demanded of me. Then you are falling into the first camp – the camp of “whoever would save his life will lose it.” And you are not alone, we go about attempting to save our life in numerous ways. One of those is simply staying clear of situations that might expose us to some danger. Please hear me – I’m not saying to be reckless! But you should be asking yourself why you are avoiding certain ministry opportunities? Why are you unwilling to share your faith? Why are you steering clear of the difficult conversation that you know you should have with your sister or your brother who is not walking with the Lord? f.It might be you are afraid of the consequences. You may not want to lose your life, it is comfortable, everything is more or less steady. Why rock the boat? Do you see how the language of our passage today doesn’t give us the wiggle room most of us desire? “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” g.I find it helpful that Jesus provides some questions at this point in his instruction. These questions are given to clarify and to drive home what it is he is saying. The answers are meant to be obvious to make the hearer think deeply. How does this first question provoke your thoughts? h.v36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” i.What is implied here? That we will attempt to gain the whole world to try to preserve everything but at what cost? That’s right - at the cost of our soul. Jesus has a plan that seems so counter intuitive. Jesus’ plan is to lose your life for his sake and for the sake of the gospel. His plan removes us from the center doesn’t it? It puts Him in control of our life and it puts His plan in front of our plan. j.Look what happens if you don’t submit to God’s plan. You could gain the whole world (metaphorically speaking) and in so doing forfeit your soul. When you forfeit you don’t even get to participate in the competition. The match is lost, the game is given up, and all before the starting whistle sounds. Characteristically we are a church made up of individuals who don’t give up. Does that mean we are predisposed to putting forth our own efforts to gain the whole world? I’m just asking. k.v37 “For what can a man give in return for his soul?” l.Here is another question Jesus asks. The answer is meant to be obvious. So, what can a man give in return for his soul? What could be produced by the efforts of a man that might be given in exchange for his soul? m.You see it is obvious that you cannot produce anything that is worth the equivalent value of a life. n.Psalm 49:7-8 reads, “Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice,” God alone is the grantor of life. o.Where does this leave us after considering these two questions? It leaves us begging for the answer as to how our soul is to be ransomed? This of course is the good news of the Christian faith specifically that Jesus, the Son of God, gave his life and it did count as a ransom for lost souls. In fact, it counted as a ransom for all who God has determined to be saved for eternity through the redemptive work of Jesus. p.Mark 10:42-45 q.Jesus, the Son of God came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. He paid for the redemption of lost sinners through the spilling of his precious blood upon the cross of calvary and he endured the wrath of God that was rightly stored up for my sins and for your sins. Jesus not only did these things but on the third day he arose from the grave and conquered death. He is the true giver of life for all who put their faith in him, who deny themselves, daily take up their cross, and actively follow him! TRANSITION Even with this glorious truth we often think that if it becomes known that we follow Jesus we will diminish our reputation and lose some of our honor. This is a misunderstanding of where honor comes from. Honor given to us from those who make up this generation is fleeting at best. True honor is bestowed upon those whom God has chosen and is worth the wait! Following Jesus is Honor Giving (vv38-1) a.v38 “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” b.What do you know about shame? I know it is a greater part of our lives than we are likely to admit. Shame is what Adam and Eve felt when they realized they were naked in the Garden of Eden after they had taken and eaten from the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. They didn’t want to be seen they didn’t want God to discover them. Many here have areas of life that you don’t want people to discover. Things from your past, many times acts that have been done to you by others. Your reputation you feel would be in jeopardy if it was leaked - you feel ashamed. I would just like to say as an aside that God would want to see you restored. For your shame to be redeemed and your honor restored. This is one of the healing works that can be accomplished through Christ and it can happen in a loving community of believers. c.In the text here before us is a problem dealing with shame to an even greater degree. I’m not trying to belittle the shame that is felt by the hurts done against those of you I just mentioned. But here the Lord is specifically addressing how he will be ashamed of those who deny a meaningful relationship with Christ. You see we live in such an age as what Jesus was speaking of 2000 years ago, we live in an adulterous and sinful generation, and because we live in such a generation Christ is offensive. Everything he stands for is an affront to those who embrace the current of the times. Therefore, we are in a similar perilous situation as the early followers of Christ. Do we act as if we are ashamed of Jesus so as to appease the people who are in our lives? Do we avoid speaking of Biblical truth because it might offend? Do we curtail our worship of God because we might be labeled as a religious fanatic? d.The real danger however isn’t from the present age. The real danger ultimately is from being denied by Jesus when he comes in his glory. We have a fuller understanding of God’s redemptive work, thanks be to the completed work of Scripture. But even earlier worshippers of God held out their hope for a better future for the promise of God’s salvation. e.Psalm 56:1–13 f.So just think – this passage is saying the Son of Man will be ashamed of those who are ashamed of him…but what is implied about those who are not ashamed of the Son of Man? The opposite of shame is honor. For those who are not ashamed of Christ in this adulterous and sinful generation we look forward to receiving honor from the Lord when he returns! And he promises to return in glory! g.v38b “…when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” h.So much of what we have been looking at today is a denying of self, accepting suffering and hardship, but is that to last forever? No dear friends. That is not our eternal hope, our hope is in Christ and in the promise of his return. We are strengthened as we live for him because he alone empowers us. It does our souls well to embrace and look forward to his promised return. When he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels and gathers all his own to himself. O that day is coming church. Jesus will return in glory and we who are not ashamed of him will be honored by him upon his return. i.v1 “And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” j.Jesus is giving a word of hope to those who are gathered around him. I hope you receive it as a word of hope as it is spoken here this morning. k.I recognize though that even though it is a message of hope it also comes across as unclear as to what is being spoken of. We see Jesus making this proclamation that some who were standing there with him would not taste death until they saw the kingdom of God come with power. l.Those words make us ask what could Jesus have meant that would have taken place within about a lifespan of his speaking? m.As we study Scripture together you will hear the elders of this church say time and again that we need to consider the context. That is where we tend to find the best interpretation of Scripture is when we keep the text in its context. n.Immediately following chapter nine verse one we get into the transfiguration account. That will be preached through next week. In the transfiguration account Jesus changes before Peter, James, and John. He is transfigured and the Bible says his clothes became radiant intensely white and in addition to this he is speaking with Moses and Elijah - to top it all off God speaks to the disciples with a voice from heaven. o.So, although the prophecy Jesus speaks in 9v1 could be about his resurrection, or the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit is given after his ascension, or even his second coming. As it is prophecy it could be all these things in time. But closest in proximity to its rendering is the transfiguration account. p.Another strong tie to this being about the transfiguration are Peter’s clear words from 2 Peter 1:16-19 q.This is a very strong tie to the words Jesus spoke of some standing there before him who would see the kingdom of God coming in power. Which of course was manifested in the other events mentioned as well and will be manifested again at the 2nd Coming of our Lord that day we all look forward to! TRANSITION Friends, you could search your whole life for an alternative to what Jesus presents in these verses – and the end result would be utter failure. He clearly presents what it means to live. Truly living in Christ is being willing to die to oneself and to live in Him! He is the author and perfecter of life and you would be foolish to dismiss his hard but clear instruction. Conclusion I am not denying that his clear instruction isn’t hard – in fact it is radical. If you want to be known as a true follower of Jesus then your life must reflect a radical transformation. It is Jesus who leads the way. Jesus denied himself in submission to the Father. Jesus denied himself and took up his cross for you. Jesus did what could not be done by anyone else so he might rescue those who have been called into his kingdom. Therefore, if you want to stand up and identify as a disciple of Christ then you will be known as one of his followers. And in this adulterous and sinful generation that has ramification, it will bring the shame of the age upon you. But more importantly, of vastly superior importance, it means you have embraced following Jesus; you have embraced a radically shaped life that allows you to live today and to live forever. Why? Because - Truly following Jesus means daily giving your life away for Him! And your reward is getting to live for Him now and forevermore for His unending glory. Family Table Talk December 15, 2019 Sing! O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear. (Chorus) Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny; From depths of hell Thy people save, And give them victory over the 1. grave. 2. (Chorus) 3. O come, Thou Day-spring, come 4. and cheer, Our spirits by Thine advent here; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, 5. And death’s dark shadows put to Advent Reading... Week 3 Luke 2:8-20 Isaiah 40:9-11; Psalm 23:1-6; Psalm 100:1-5 John 10:1-18, 22-30 Luke 1:46-80 Luke 2:21-35 Scripture Memory Exodus 20:13-16 flight. “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” - Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (ESV) www.pillarhoodriver.org