(08-08-31) Inside-Out Jesus - Romans 12.9-21; Matthew 16.21-8
Inside-Out Jesus – Romans 12:9-21;
Matthew 16:21-28
· Eye-spy in the dark
o camping Holiday – differences to normal life
§ some good
· time with friends
· BBQ
§ some bad
· waking up to find your lilo has deflated
· mud
§ almost like a different world
o difficult to adjust to going / coming back
o starting a new school/university/job
o most difficult readjustments in thinking, dreaming, believing
§ Jesus and His disciples
§ Paul to the Romans
· What’s been happening?
o Jesus has gathered followers around him
o performed miracles; preached with power, authority, wisdom
o spoken against the religious authorities
o Peter has declared Jesus to be the Messiah
§ a climax of faith in the middle of the Gospel
· The disciples’ thoughts about what lay ahead were running riot
o literally!
o political and religious rule – by force?
· But Jesus’ plan is very different
o servanthood, humility, sacrifice, obedience, suffering, death
· Peter interjects
o same thought/temptation as Jesus faced in the desert
§ Matthew 4:8-10
· Peter, the rock and firm foundation becomes the stumbling block
o receives the same rebuke
· So, what about us?
o do we ever put our own expectations on Jesus?
o do we want to put Him in a box and demand that He act and speak in a certain way?
· ‘Gentle Jesus, meek and mild’
o but what about the political, moral and spiritual revolutionary?
o what of Romans 12 and the upside-down world that God, through Paul portrays?
· Jesus’ calls us in the same way He was called (vv24-6)
o servanthood
§ of God and one another
o humility
§ to know who we are in Christ
o sacrifice
§ to surrender all that is not of God
o obedience
§ to follow His way
o suffering
§ for His sake
o death
§ to sin and our selfish desires
o resurrection, life, hope, future, holiness
· Is this what we imagined/imagine the Christian life to be?
o becoming Christ-like can involve a big surprise
o what would it mean to follow this call today, tomorrow?