(KJV) And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mark 8:34-38
[35] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
[36] For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
[37] Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
[38] Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS
IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT A MIND IS A TERRIBLE
WASTE
BUT IF YOU WOULD ALLOW ME THIS MORNING I
WANT TO TAKE THIS STATEMENT A LITTLE
FUTHER
AND USE FOR A TOPIC
(A SOUL IS A TERRIBLE THING TO LOSE)
BECAUSE IN THIS LIFE WE FACE MANY HURTS
BUT NOT ONLY DO WE FACE MANY HURTS
BUT WE ALSO SUFFER MANY LOSSES IN LIFE AS
WELL
YOU SEE NONE OF US LIKE TO LOSE
MONEY-
HOMES -
CARS-
JOBS-
LOVE ONES
A FRIEND
AND THE LIST COULD GO ON AND ON
FOR WE ALL SUFFER MANY HURTS AND LOSSES
IN LIFE
BUT WHEN YOU LOSE MONEY -YOU CAN
CONTINUE TO WORK AND EARN MORE MONEY
WHEN YOU LOSE A HOME -YOU CAN BUY
ANOTHER HOME
YOU CAN GET ANOTHER JOB
WHEN YOU LOSE A LOVE ONE -IF YOU KEEP YOUR
HAND IN GOD`S HAND YOU WILL SEE THEM
AGAIN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE JORDAN
BUT WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR SOUL
YOU LOSE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU
HAVE
BECAUSE WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR SOUL YOU LOSE YOU
I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE ARGUING WITH ME
RIGHT THERE
BUT THE WORD OF GOD TELLS US IN
Genesis 2:7 (KJV) And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
AND WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR SOUL YOU LOSE YOU
IN THE TEXT BEFORE US
JESUS PREDICTS HIS DEATH FOR THE FRIST TIME
Jesus’ teaching that the Son of Man must suffer corresponds to Daniel’s prophecies that God was in complete control of the plan for redemption
The suffering also recalls Isaiah’s prophecy of the
Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53
The fact of his being rejected looks back to the rejected “stone” in Psalm 118:22.
Jesus knew exactly from what quarter the rejection would come: the leaders, leading priests, and teachers of religious law.
These three groups made up the Council, the Jewish supreme court that ultimately sentenced Jesus to be killed
AND THIS IS WHERE OUR TEXT WILL BEGIN
YOUR SOUL IS A TERRIBLE TO LOSE
Mark 8:34 (KJV) And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and follow
Jesus invites every person to follow, but one who desires to follow him must have two attitudes: (1) a willingness to put aside selfish ambition, and (2) a willingness to take up his or her cross.
AND TO FOLLOW CHRIST MEANS
To put aside selfish ambition means to surrender immediate material gratification in order to discover and secure one’s true self and God’s interests.
It is a willingness to let go of selfish desires and earthly security.
This attitude turns self-centeredness to God-centeredness.
AND NOT ONLY DO WE NEED TO PUT ASIDE
SELFISH AMBITION
BUT WE MUST TAKE UP OUR CROSS AND FOLLOW
JESUS
To shoulder one’s cross was a vivid illustration of the
humility and submission
Jesus asked of his followers. When Jesus used this picture of his followers taking up their crosses to follow him,
But Jesus’ words meant that his followers had to be prepared to obey God’s word and follow his will no matter what the consequences for the sake of the gospel
THAT MEANS WE HAVE TO LET GO OF
SOMETHINGS TO FOLLOW CHRIST
WE HAVE TO STOP ALL THIS FAKING AND
SHAKING
WE HAVE TO GET RID OF SOME THINGS
AND BECOME OBEDIENT TO THE WORD OF GOD
WELL REV WHAT IS OUR CROSSES-I`M GLAD
YOU ASK
A cross comes from specifically walking in Christ’s steps, embracing his life.
It comes from bearing disdain because we are embracing the narrow way of the Cross—that Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
AND THIS BRINGS ME TO THE 1ST SPRITUAL
NUGGET I SEE IN THE TEXT
HOW DO YOU LOSE YOUR SOUL
Mark 8:35 (KJV) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
JESUS TELLS US IN THE TEXT
“Losers are keepers.
BECAUSE THE Christian life is a paradox:
to attempt to keep your life means only to lose it. A person who keeps his or her life in order to satisfy desires and goals apart from God ultimately loses life.
Not only does that person lose eternal life,
he or she loses the fullness of life promised to those who believe.
(THE STORY OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS)
WELL THE 2ND SPRITUAL NUGGET I SEE IN THE
TEXT
HOW TO SAVE YOUR SOUL
JESUS REVEALS TO US IN THE TEXT THAT
those who willingly give up their lives for the sake of Christ and of the gospel actually find true life.
NOW To give up one’s life for Christ’s sake refers to a person refusing to renounce Christ, even if the punishment were death.
To be willing to put personal desires and life itself into
God’s hands
means to understand that nothing that we can gain on our own in our earthly lives can compare to what we gain with Christ.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS
Jesus wants us to choose to follow him rather than to lead a life of sin and self-satisfaction.
He wants us to stop trying to control our own destiny and to let him direct us. This makes good sense because, as the Creator, Christ knows better than we do what real life is about.
WELL THE 3RD SPRITUAL NUGGET I SEE IN THE
TEXT IS
WHAT CAN YOU GIVE IN EXCHANGE FOR YOUR
SOUL
Mark 8:36-37 (KJV) For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
[37] Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
AND TO reinforce his words in 8:35,
Jesus asked his listeners a rhetorical question.
What good would it be for a person to gain the whole world
(that is, to have power or financial control over the entire
world system of which Satan is the head)
but to lose his or her soul (that is, to lose eternal life with
God)
Whatever a person has on earth is only temporary; it cannot be exchanged for his or her soul.
WELL AS I PREPARE TO GO TO MY SEAT
I SEE ONE MORE NUGGET IN THE TEXT
Mark 8:38 (KJV) Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Jesus constantly turned the world’s perspective upside down with talk of first and last, keeping and giving up.
Here he offered his listeners a choice.
If they chose to be ashamed of Jesus, then Jesus would be
ashamed of them at his Second Coming
(they would be rejected from eternal life with him). By extension, those who were not ashamed of Jesus and his words, in spite of the adulterous and sinful culture surrounding them, would be accepted by Christ when he returns in glory.
AND AS I CLOSE I NEED TO TELL YOU JUST
BECAUSE YOU COME TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY
DOSE`NT SAVE YOUR SOUL
JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE A
PREACHER -DEACON-CHOIR MEMBER-OR EVEN ON THE USHER BOARD OR JUST A MEMBER IN THE
PEW
DOSE`NT MEAN THAT YOUR SOUL IS SAVE
YOU SEE WE ARE LIVING IN A DAY AND TIME
WHERE THE CHURCH IS FULL OF
PLOTTING PREACHRES
DEVILISH DEACONS
GOSSIPING CHOIR MEMBERS
UNDERMINING USHERS
AND MESSY PEOPLE IN THE PEWS
BUT JESUS TELLS US IN THE TEXT
THAT WHOEVER KEEP HIS LIFE WILL LOSE IT
BUT WHOEVER LOSE IT FOR CHRIST SAKE SHALL
SAVE IT
AIN`T GOD ALRIGHT
YOU SEE I`M GLAD THIS MORNING
THAT WHEN GOD GOT READY TO START A NATION
HE USED A MAN NAME ADAM
WHEN HE SAVED THE NATION HE USED A MAN
NAME NOAH
WHEN HE BLESS THE NATION HE USED A MAN
NAME ABRAHAM
WHEN HE PRAYED FOR THE NATION HE USED A
MAN NAME DANIEL
HE USED A MAN NAME JOSEPH TO FEED THE
NATION
USED A MAN NAME MOSES TO FREE THE NATION
USED A MAN NAME DAVID TO SEPARATE THE
NATION
HE USED SOLOMON TO INSPIRE THE NATION
BUT WHEN HE GOT READY TO SAVE THE NATION
SOUL
HE USED THE SON OF MAN NAME JESUS CHRIST
IN GENESIS -HE IS THE SEED OF A WOMAN THAT
WAS BRUISED BY THE SERPENT
IN EXODUS-HE`S THE PASSOVER LAMB
IN LEVITICUS -HE`S THE ATONING SACRIFICE
IN NUMBERS -HE`S THE SMITTEN ROCK
IN DEUTERONOMY-HE IS THE PROPHET OF GOD IN THE SAMUELS-KINGS AND CHRONICLES HE IS
THE PROMISED KING
IN NEHEMIAH-HE IS THE RESTORING OF THE
NATION
IN RUTH-HE`S THE HEAVENLY KINSMAN
IN ESTER-HE OUR ADVOCATE
IN JOB HE`S MY REDEEMER
IN PSALMS-HE`S MY ALL AND ALL
IN PROVERB -HE`S OUR PATTERN
IN ECCLESIASTES HE IS OUR GOAL
IN THE SONG OF SOLOMOM-HE IS A SATISFIER
IN THE PROPHETS -HE IS THE PRINCE OF PEACE
IN THE FOUR GOSPEL -HE`S THE SAVIOR WHO
CAME TO SAVE OUR SOULS
CAME DOWN THROUGH 42 GENERATIONS
BORN IN ANOTHER MAN STABLE
DIED ON ANOTHER MAN CROSS
PLACE IN ANOTHERS MAN TOMB
GOT UP THAT THIRD DAY MORNING WITH ALL
POWER IN HIS HANDS
THAT’S WHY IN ACTS HE IS KNOWN AS THE RISEN
LORD
IN THE EPISTLES-HE IS THE SON OF GOD THAT SAT
DOWN ON THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER
IN REVELATION--HE THE GROOM THAT’S COMING
BACK FOR HIS BRIDE
AIN`T GOD ALRIGHT
