Introduction

Good morning, dear friends. It's a pleasure to stand before you today, not as a stranger but as a fellow traveler, walking this path of faith alongside you. As we gather together in this sacred space, we find ourselves standing on the precipice of a profound understanding - an understanding of our purpose, the path of Jesus, and the perseverance we must embody in times of pain.

In our hands, we hold the timeless truth of God's Word, a compass guiding us through the wilderness of this world. And today, we turn to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 8, verses 31 to 38:

"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. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. 'Get behind me, Satan!' he said. 'You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.' Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and 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. 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? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.'"

In these verses, we find a blueprint for our lives as disciples of Christ. But how do we navigate this blueprint? How do we discern our purpose, follow the path of Jesus, and persevere in our pain?

As we seek answers to these questions, I am reminded of the words of the great Christian author, J.I. Packer, who once said, "Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life's problems fall into place of their own accord." This, my dear friends, is the cornerstone of our faith - knowing God and aligning our lives with His divine purpose.

Perceiving Our Purpose

In the grand tapestry of life, each of us has a unique thread to weave. This thread, this individual purpose, is not something we create, but rather something we discover. It's a divine design, a heavenly blueprint, etched into the very fabric of our being by the hand of God. And it's through the lens of this divine purpose that we begin to see our lives, and the world around us, in a new light.

The Scripture we read provides an illustration of this: Jesus, the Son of Man, knew His purpose. He knew that He must suffer, be rejected, be killed, and after three days, rise again. This was His divine purpose, His thread in the grand tapestry of God's plan. And He embraced it, not because it was easy, but because it was necessary.

Consider Peter: When Jesus began to teach about His impending suffering and death, Peter took Him aside and rebuked Him. Peter, in his human understanding, could not comprehend why Jesus, the Messiah, should have to suffer. He was seeing things not from God's perspective, but from a human perspective. He was not perceiving his purpose or the purpose of Jesus in the grand scheme of God's plan.

We often view our lives from a human perspective: We see our successes and failures, our joys and sorrows, our hopes and fears, through the lens of our limited human understanding. But God calls us to a higher perspective. He calls us to see our lives through the lens of His divine purpose. And when we do, we begin to understand that our trials are not obstacles, but opportunities. Opportunities to grow, to learn, to serve, and to glorify God.

Jesus' response to Peter: He said, "Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns." Here, Jesus is not just rebuking Peter, but also teaching him, and us, a valuable lesson. When we focus on human concerns, we lose sight of God's purpose. We become like a ship without a compass, tossed to and fro by the waves of worldly worries. But when we focus on God's concerns, when we align our minds and hearts with His divine purpose, we find direction, stability, and peace.

Jesus' call to the crowd and His disciples: He said, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." Here, Jesus is defining what it means to perceive our purpose. It's not about self-fulfillment, but self-denial. It's not about pursuing our own desires, but taking up our cross, embracing our trials, and following Jesus. This is the path to true purpose. This is the path to true life.

Jesus' profound question: "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" This question challenges us to consider the cost of ignoring our divine purpose. If we gain the whole world, if we achieve all the success, wealth, and fame this world has to offer, but lose our soul, what have we truly gained? Nothing. In fact, we have lost everything. But if we lose our life for Jesus and for the gospel, if we embrace our divine purpose, we gain everything. We gain eternal life.

Pursuing the Path of Jesus

In the vast tapestry of the Gospel, we find a thread that leads us to the path of Jesus ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO