INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Last week we began to take a look at the the fact that for many of us our soul is waiting for us to make some needed adjustments to our lives.
• We live in a chaotic time, the noise of the world around us makes it easy to allow God’s still small voice within us to be drown out.
• Last week we dealt with some issues our soul may be waiting on, they boil down to shoring up our relationship with Jesus.
• If you missed last weeks’ message, you can listen on our new Church app found in the google app store and the Apple App store, search by FCCSV!
• Today we build on the issue of HOW we can build our relationship with Jesus so that our soul can find the peace we are desperately seeking.
• We cannot have a true relationship with Jesus unless we are willing to follow Him. Today we will see what Jesus says it takes to follow Him.
• Following Him will change your life!
• Today we will look at the words of Jesus. In the context of Mark 8, the beginning of the chapter takes us to the scene of Jesus feeding the 4000 around Decapolis. On an earlier occasion Jesus fed the 5,000 people.
• After the feeding of the 4,000, Jesus and the disciples left for the District of Dalmanutha (DA MAN U THA) which on the western side of the Sea of Galilee near Gennesaret (GEN ES ARE AT).
• Then they got into a confrontation with the Pharisee’s, then they left for Bethsaida where Jesus healed a blind man.
• That takes us to an important verse which give context for our text we will examine today.
• Jesus asked the disciples who do people say I am?
• SLIDE #2
• Mark 8:27–29 (HCSB) — Jesus went out with His disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They answered Him, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.” “But you,” He asked them again, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered Him, “You are the Messiah!”
• Peter says that Jesus is the Messiah!
• Jesus told them to keep this to themselves for now, and then that takes is to where we are today.
• Let’s turn to Mark 8:31-32
• SLIDE #3
• Mark 8:31–33 (HCSB) — 31 Then He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, be killed, and rise after three days. 32 He was openly talking about this. So Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But turning around and looking at His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan, because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns, but man’s!”
•
• SLIDE #4
SERMON
If you are going to follow Jesus…
I. God’s concerns should be your concerns.
• Once Peter acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus proceeds to share with them His upcoming fate.
• He explains to Peter and the disciples that He was going to be rejected by the religious leader, killed, and would rise on the third day.
• Jesus said He MUST suffer these things.
• The word MUST in Greek suggests a necessity based on the divine will. It is a term that alludes to the conception that God has planned the whole program of redemption, a conception attested in the OT prophetic books and in later Jewish apocalyptic writings.
• Jesus is teaching His disciples what Messiah entailed.
• Jesus called Himself the Son of Man.
• “Son of Man” is by far the favorite expression Jesus uses in the Gospels to refer to himself. It occurs eighty-one times; and, with the possible exceptions of Mark 2:10 and 28—where the title “Son of Man” seems to be part of Mark’s editorial comments—no one else, neither his friends nor his foes, refers to Jesus as the Son of Man.
• “Son of Man” occurs in the OT. In the Psalms it means simply “man” (cf. Psa 8:4; 80:17); and in Ezekiel, where it occurs over ninety times, it is the particular name by which God addresses the prophet.
• Daniel 7:13-14 is one of the most helpful passages in the OT.
• SLIDE #5
• Daniel 7:13–14 (HCSB) — 13 I continued watching in the night visions, and I saw One like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before Him. 14 He was given authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom; so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.
• Now, how much of that do you think Peter heard?
• I think he heard REJECTION and KILLED. I am not sure Peter picked up on the RAISED ON THE THIRD DAY part.
• Peter did what people still do today, they want to follow the Jesus they construct, they want to follow a Jesus who fits in their box, their perception of who He is and what He is supposed to do for them.
• They want Burger King Jesus, have it your way as the old 70’s commercials for Burger King sang.
• Well Peter wanted Jesus without the tomatoes and lettuce.
• Peter’s concept of the “Messiah” is too narrow, too laden with selfish, human fantasies. He thinks that the Messiah will establish a reign of peace and righteousness by overthrowing the powers who hold God’s people Israel in a vise of oppression.
• Peter had no concern for what concerned God at this point, if one is going to follow Jesus, His concerns should be your concern.
• Jesus wanted to save a lost world, Peter wanted someone to hang out with.
• Peter, therefore, shows himself at odds with Jesus; and, along with the other disciples, he wants to impose his own private agenda on how Jesus will live out his vocation as Messiah and how they will benefit as his followers.
• He looks for a human reign while Jesus tries to prepare them for the reign of God.
• This is why Jesus said But turning around and looking at His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan, because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns, but man’s!”
• The word REBUKE is a strong disapproval of what was happening. Peter rebuked Jesus and Jesus rebukes Peter.
• This what Jesus said, you only care about your perception of Me instead of my true calling.
• Following Jesus means we care about what He cares about, we do not try to mold Jesus into our image and agenda, but rather we are molded into His image.
• Let’s look at verse 34.
• SLIDE #6
• Mark 8:34 (HCSB) Summoning the crowd along with His disciples, He said to them, “If anyone wants to be My follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.
• SLIDE #7
If you are going to follow Jesus, you must realize…
II. Jesus has a laid out a path for you to follow.
• After rebuking Peter for his attitude, Jesus invites the crowd to come close and then Jesus lays out the path one MUST follow in order to be one of His followers.
• Jesus used the word MUST again; meaning this was an issue of divine will.
• Doing these things are not optional for those who want to follow Jesus.
• To follow means: accompany someone who takes the lead in determining direction and route of movement.
• We are called to follow Jesus, not for Him to follow us! Where would we lead him?
• First Jesus says one must deny self.
• Denying oneself is some temporary self-denial of luxuries or pleasures, but a denial of one’s plans, goals, interests, and motives.
• Everything must be centered on the Lord Jesus Christ whom we would follow. This is what it means to become a disciple or follower of Christ.
• As Paul writes in Philippians 1:21, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
• This means that the disciple must be willing to lose all for the sake of following Jesus.
• In verse 36 Jesus will spell this out.
• To disregard oneself. Refuse to acknowledge or recognize that you belong to your self, you belong to Jesus, you gave your life to Him!
• The next part of the path is we are told we MUST take up our cross!
• To any first-century resident of Palestine, crucifixion was a well-known form of Roman execution.
• The hearers would have understood Jesus to mean that becoming a follower of Him involved the recognition that He was going to His death, and His followers were risking the same.
• Jesus did not want to enlist followers under false pretenses. His cause was going to bring death to Him and possibly the same for His followers.
• This also goes back to denying self, it is dying to self and living for Jesus!
• SLIDE #8
• Galatians 2:20 (HCSB) and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
• HALLELUJAH!
• Taking up your cross is not living with your spouse, it is being all in for Jesus!
• The Jesus says once one takes of their cross they are to follow Him!
• This is what Paul speaks of in the Galatians passage on the screen. Trust Jesus, follow Him in all areas of life!
• SLIDE #9
• Mark 8:35 (HCSB) For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me and the gospel will save it.
• SLIDE #10
If you are going to follow Jesus, you need to grasp…
III. A paradox of life.
• SLIDE #11
• A paradox is defined as: a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory
• Look at verse 35 again.
• SLIDE #12
• Mark 8:35 (HCSB) For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me and the gospel will save it.
• WE have to understand the paradox here. At first is may nit make sense; hence, the paradox!
• If you want to save your life you will lose it.
• The condition of living or the state of being alive, especially healthiness, happiness, energy and vitality.
• The word lose mean to suffer out-and-out destruction.
• When Jesus walks this line, He is speaking of this life and the life after.
• When we live for self, we will destroy both this life the life to come. When you follow Jesus, you could lose this life; however, the life to come will be pure joy!
• When we look to save this life, we will forsake the life to come.
• Now, He also states the one who loses his life because of me and the gospel, his life will be saved.
• This goes back to taking up your cross and following Jesus. Yes, you will lose your life as you knew in Christ, but in doing so, you will have saved your life!
• When you go all in with Jesus, you will enjoy this life and the life to come!
• Let’s conclude with verses 36-38
• SLIDE #13
• Mark 8:36–38 (HCSB) — 36 For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his life? 37 What can a man give in exchange for his life? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
• SLIDE #14
If you are going to follow Jesus, you need to understand…
IV. The consequences of choosing not following Jesus.
• I WILL MAKE THIS POINT SHORT AND SWEET.
• Jesus says you can choose who you will follow. You have 2 basic choices. You can choose to take up your cross and follow Jesus, or you can follow the world.
• For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his life?
• The word GAIN denotes: to receive as a result of one’s activities to make a profit.
• If you gain the whole world by your total investment in the world, what good is that when you lose your life or your eternal life?
• I have yet to se a moving truck pull into the grave yard.
• Jesus asks what will a man give in exchange for his life or soul?
• What will you place as being more important than following Jesus?
• Jesus speaks of those who are ashamed of Him in this world, Jesus said He will be ashamed of that person in the next.
• If this is all there is to life, then chase the world, invest your whole portfolio in this world because that would all there is. He who dies with the most toys wins!
• However, once one grasps the realization that there is more to this life than living and dying, it will change you.
CONCLUSION
• So who will you follow? You have to chose your path, the path Jesus laid out for you or the path the world offers.
• DO you want peace, God’s blessings, and eternal life?
• Do you want your life to count for something more than just dying with stuff?
• Follow Jesus!
