THE MASTER’S GUIDE TO YOUR BEST SELF—Mark 8:27-38
What is the one topic everybody in the world is interested in?
It is not sports…not politics…not who will be the next Bachelor…not _____ (Pastor: Be creative and specific.)
All you have to do to find out what people care most about is go on social media, where you will find lots of…selfies. We are all interested in ourselves.
We hear it all the time: I want to…find myself…be true to myself…fulfill my self-potential. I need to…take care of myself…look out for myself…love myself…indulge myself…stand up for myself.
That is not all bad. In fact, Jesus says our most important concern in life should be our “self.” In Mark 8:36-37, he says, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
(The Greek word for “soul” is psyche. The soul is not, as some people think, an amorphous, immaterial part of us, disconnected from daily life. It is the essence of who we are, both now and forever.)
Yet Jesus says some surprising things about how to become your best self!
Read Mark 8:34-38 (Pastor, if you have not yet read the entire text, you might read 8:27-38 here.)
HOW DO WE BECOME OUR BEST SELF?
Jesus says something that goes against almost every message about self-care: “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:35-36)
Jesus is not against taking care of ourselves. In Mark 6:30-31, we read, “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’” Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and we should take care of our physical and emotional health.
But a life focused on oneself is empty and futile. Billy Graham said something like, “The smallest package in the entire world is a person wrapped up in himself.” Maybe you know people who make everything about themselves. Their lives get lost in themselves.
Jesus recognized that our purpose in life is bigger than ourselves. Our purpose is found the gospel—the good news of Jesus Christ. Our best self finds it place in God’s glorious kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy.
How do find our place in God’s kingdom? Jesus tells us how, and he shows us the way: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34)
1. DENY SELF
What does Jesus mean? Does he want us to deny our value and put ourselves down? Does he want us to be passive, wimpy, or weak—a doormat so others can walk all over us? Should we work so hard at being humble that we can’t accept a compliment? No!
Jesus is our example, and Jesus did not have a low view of himself. In verses 27-29, Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was, and Peter answered, “You are the Messiah” (Christ in Greek). Jesus was THE MAN! He was the one all the Jews were praying would come. He boldly claimed to be the glorious Son of Man prophesied in Daniel, and even more boldly, he claimed to be the Son of God!
So what did it mean for Jesus to deny himself? The three temptations he faced in the wilderness before he began his ministry were mostly about the question, “Who are you going to live for?” The devil tempted him to use his power as the Son of God to make bread for himself, to save himself from harm, and to establish an earthly kingdom for himself. Jesus beat the temptations, refusing to make his life all about himself and his desires.
Jesus said clearly what denying himself meant for him, in John 6:38, “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.”
Not my will, but God’s will, be done.
The Apostle Paul spoke of self-denial in terms of his “rights,” in 1 Corinthians 9:1-12, “Am I not free? Am I not an apostle?...Don’t we have the right to food and drink? Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?...But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.”
DENYING SELF INVOLVES GIVING UP OUR RIGHTS.
We give up the right to indulge our desires.
Paul says in Galatians 5:13 “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh.”
***When we knew her, she was a pleasant girl, attending a Christian school and living a rather sheltered life. After we moved away, she showed up on Facebook, as a friend of a friend. Her picture reflected a rebellious and hard life, and her comments revealed a bitter divorce. What happened to the girl trying to find herself? The only hint was her upcoming trip to Vegas, to let loose and get hammered on her thirtieth birthday.**
“Whoever wants to save their life will lose it…”
We give up our right to personal freedom.
In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul deals with a problem of food sacrificed to idols before being served to Christians. For some Christians, it was not a problem to eat meat sacrificed to gods who were not gods at all, but for weak Christians who had once worshipped those idols, encouraging them to eat the meat might lead them astray. So Paul says, “Be careful that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak…Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.” (1 Corinthians 8:9-13)
We give up our right to be happy.
***When I arrived as an interim pastor, I was informed that the previous lay leader of the congregation had left his wife and stopped coming to church. I called him, and he reluctantly agreed to meet with me at my office. I asked him why he had left his wife for another woman, and all he could say was, “I have a right to be happy.” Strange, for it seemed that he was not happy at all.
Soon after that, the current lay leader and his wife came in for marriage counseling. They were dedicated to Christ, but she said, “I don’t know whether I can live with him anymore. My love for him is gone, and I don’t think it can ever come back.” I was able to help them understand each other a little, and because of her commitment to Christ, she agreed to remain in that loveless relationship. After I had been gone from that church for a couple of years, I got a letter from her. She said that it had taken her that long to be able to finally say that she truly loved her husband.**
“Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
We give up our right to fulfill every dream or ambition.
***The man moved to our community to learn a new business from the ground up. He had been an exceptional baseball player in college, and he had been drafted by a major league team. Then he took a long look at his life. He believed he could fulfill his dream of making to the majors if he spent several years with minor league teams. His wife and young son would pay a stiff price as he left them for months at a time. If he made it to the majors, players warned him of temptations he would face on the road, and he feared his own weaknesses. So he left his dream behind for Christ and his family. He became a role model and key leader in the church. And yes—he was a great baseball coach for his son’s team.**
“…whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and…
2. Take up their cross
Sometimes people speak of sickness or problems as “a cross they have to bear.” Jesus is not talking about the cross people have to bear, but the cross they choose to bear. They choose to be faithful to a spouse who is sick or has lost memory function. They choose to raise a handicapped child or adopt a difficult homeless child. They choose to take the phone calls of a lonely person or volunteer at the community assistance center.
Jesus took “taking up the cross” to a whole new level. “He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.” (Mark 8:31)
Jesus’ life and death demonstrated the truth of, “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” As Philippians 2:8-9 says, “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name…”
The cross we accept will not be nearly as heavy as the cross of Jesus, but the rewards will come.
***I think of the load my father accepted to serve Christ. He was a busy college professor, who got up at 4 a.m. to finish his Ph.D., and then graded papers at home in the evening. Yet he found time to teach adult Sunday School and serve on the church board. He was the key lay leader in the church, who spent some sleepless nights after meetings. And he was a father, who somehow managed to never let me feel neglected. He took up the cross for Christ, and he lived a full life.**
***I know a man who retired from an executive position in the oil industry. He is passionate about golf, and he shares his passion with a grandson, who was not raised in a Christian home, but at his grandfather’s encouragement connect to a Christian organization of golfers. He mentors homeless men, and spends his Tuesday mornings helping people recover lost birth certificates and drivers licenses. He cooks a great chili for the Salvation Army, and he is invested in the group that came out of the Alpha course he initiated. Yes, he is still a pretty good golfer, and he records tournaments while he goes to church—but his life is more than that.**
(Preacher: This might be an opportunity to highlight some of the commitments to serve available in your church and community.)
“…whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
3. Follow me.
Mark’s source for his gospel was Peter, who heard the call of Jesus while he was plying his trade as a fisherman: “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” (Mark 1:17) Peter left the security of the family business to learn from the Master. He left his home and community in Galilee, following Jesus into the towns of Galilee and the unfamiliar territory of Jerusalem.
Then Jesus was crucified. Peter saw him alive again, but Peter could no longer physically follow him. Peter did not know how to follow Jesus when Jesus was no longer walking ahead on him in the road. So Peter and his friends went back to what they knew; they went fishing. Jesus met them early in the morning, and after a breakfast of fish, Jesus said to Peter, “Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” (John 21:17-19)
Once again, Peter left his old life to follow Jesus. He and the others waited and prayed for the direction and power of the Holy Spirit, and Peter followed the leading of the Spirit Jesus promised, preaching a sermon that led 3000 to Christ that day. Peter risked his life to accept primary leadership role of the church in Jerusalem. He was imprisoned for his boldness, and he died the death of a martyr.
Peter chose to lose his life in following Jesus, and he discovered a life of adventure, purpose, and impact. More importantly, he found a place in the kingdom of God and received the approval of his Master.
Our call to follow Jesus is not as dramatic as Peter’s call. Yet when Jesus calls us, he tends to rock our boat—get us off the couch, break our routines, and disrupt our comfortable patterns of behavior. He sends us to places we might not otherwise go, to do things we never thought we would do.
Following Jesus is not always easy, but it is worth it. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. (Mark 8:34-35)
Where is Jesus calling you to do at this point in your life?
Is it to leave behind a bad habit or a destructive pattern of life?
Is it to confront a problem or try to fix a relationship gone bad?
Is it to reach out to people in need, taking up a cross of caring?
Is it to rearrange your priorities, so you can serve?
Is it to commit yourself more deeply to your family and their growth and discipleship?
Is it to stretch yourself beyond what you thought you could do, trusting the Spirit’s power in you?
What is holding you back? Are you trying to save your “self,” afraid of the cost or the risk? Jesus says to all of us, “whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
