Mark part 39…Nov.18th 2015Chapter 8:34-39

At the end of every service I give an invitation for people to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

As with any invitation I try to make it personal and try to say why it is so important to accept Jesus Christ as well as the benefits of serving the Lord.

The whole entire service is directed toward people receiving Jesus Christ and because of that great emphasis is put on the invitation.

In these verses tonight what we see is Jesus giving an invitation.

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The invitation Jesus gives is much different than any I have given or any I have ever heard.

Jesus is inviting people to come to Him for forgiveness and blessing and joy and eternal life.

Jesus gives us the model for invitations.

He gives the way to life, the way to forgiveness, the way to heaven, the way to joy, and the way to peace.

Verse 34… When He had called the people to Himself with His disciples also He said to them…whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.

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Verse 35…For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s sake will save it.

Jesus’ invitation is not one that you would normally hear a preacher give.

Jesus’ invitation is not an invitation to health, wealth, prosperity, healing or fulfillment of dreams or when a person comes to Him.

Matter fact it is a major hit to man-centered and self-centered invitations.

Jesus in no way invites people to trouble free living.

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His invitation is one of self-denial, crossing bearing and obedience.

It is very important to understand the context, to do that we have to look back over a few verses we have covered already.

In verse 29 Peter speaks on behalf of all the disciples and says to Jesus…

You are the Messiah, You are the Christ.

So it means all of the disciples have came to the place of understanding Jesus is God in human flesh.

He is the promised Messiah.

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Their thoughts though were way off.

They thought Jesus the Messiah was going to establish a kingdom and they would be part of and have position in the kingdom.

Then Jesus said to them, the Son of Man will suffer many things be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again.

It was at that point Peter grabbed Jesus and said we need to talk none of that is going to happen to You.

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We are going to help you out and we are going to see that none of that happens to You.

Jesus rebuked him and said get behind Me satan you have man’s interest in your heart and not God’s.

Man is interested only in the glory and man is interested in only blessings.

It is at this point Jesus says what He says here.

Jesus wants to affirm the disciples who already believe in Him and speak to the crowd that’s surrounding them about the commitment required to serve Jesus Christ.

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The commitment requires three things.

First: Self-denial

Whoever desires to come after Me let him deny himself.

What does self-denial mean?

Self-denial is very important because that is where it all starts in having a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Self-denial means to disown, to refuse to associate with, or to companion with someone.

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It literally means I do not want to associate myself with the person that I am.

It means to realize our own sinfulness and to abandon self effort to do anything about my sin.

To abandon self confidence and to abandon our own ambitions, abandon our agenda and our own plans.

Self denial means to disown myself.

Self denial means to abandon the soul that is sinful, depraved and fallen.

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So first of all when we come to Jesus Christ He requires us to abandon ourselves.

It is rejecting all that you are…

It is seeing all of our desires the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life and all of our ambitions and how we were all wrapped up in ourselves.

This is true conversion involves.

Conversion is not adding Jesus to the list.

Conversion is a whole new list.

Self-denial means…

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We give up our independence give up trust in ourselves and confidence in ourselves.

Self denial is saying with Paul for me to live is Christ…

Self denial is saying I’m crucified with Christ I no longer live and Christ lives in me.

Coming to Jesus Christ is not just embracing the grace, and gifts He provides…

Coming to Christ is bringing ourselves under His sovereign Lordship and saying Jesus is the Lord of my life.

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Self- denial says…Not my will but His will be done…

Not my desires but His desires for my life…

Not my plans but His plans…

Self denial is turning our lives over to Christ…

To His will, to His purpose and to His guidance.

Self denial is disassociating with the person that I am and becoming the person that Jesus can make me be.

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Self denial is being humble, crushed and broken and staying that way before the Lord.

The more you have of Jesus the more humility increases.

The more we know the more we grow in humility and in His grace.

Self denial is abandoning self effort realizing nothing we do can set us free or get us to heaven.

It is turning our lives over to Him.

And taking Jesus on His terms not ours.

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Then Jesus gave the second requirement…verse 34…

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross.

Take up our cross.

Again we need to know the meaning of taking up our cross.

Jesus told the disciples He was going to suffer and be killed but notice He did not tell them how He would be killed.

Jesus had not told the disciples He would be crucified so they have no idea of how He would be killed.

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So the words take up your cross would cause them to immediately think of one thing… death by crucifixion.

They were very use to seeing crucified victims as the Romans would always put them along the highways for everybody to see.

Crucifixion was suffering beyond all description.

What Jesus was saying was…if you want to follow Me then you will have to follow My reproach.

Another way to look at it like this…

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Jesus is pointing out how powerful and valuable the gift of salvation is.

And was it valuable enough to them that they would give up everything and die for it?

Now this doesn’t means everyone who comes to Jesus Christ will be killed…

What it means is those who follow Jesus will suffer along the way…

Those who follow Jesus will be rejected by some along the way…

Those who follow Jesus Christ will endure rejection along the way..

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Those who follow Jesus will endure persecution, reproach and shame.

So what Jesus is saying is follow Him and it will cost you everything.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we need to really understand…

The glory is to come, the kingdom is to come it is about suffering because we are going to be living in a hostile world.

The glory will come and the kingdom will come but until we are not on the playground we are on the battlefield.

Jesus is telling the requirements are…16

Saying no to ourselves and saying no to safety…

And realizing that salvation is so valuable that we should we willing to pay any price.

Let me ask us a question tonight…

Is your salvation more costly and important than our home?

Is our salvation more costly and important than our family?

Is our salvation so valuable you would give up everything you own?

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Jesus never offers the gospel based on getting everything you want…

Jesus offers salvation based on is salvation valuable enough that you would give up everything you own.

True salvation views Jesus and salvation so valuable that no personal sacrifice is too much.

You may say that’s ridiculous but let me say this…

Every week somebody in war lays their life down for the USA.

People lay their life down for worthy causes.

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Would you lay your life down for your salvation?

Jesus is talking about the kind of love for Him that overpowers the instincts of self-preservation.

But let me say if we or when we face that moment Jesus will give us grace for the moment.

So taking up our cross and denying self really means…

Being faithful to the truth of Jesus Christ no matter the cost.

It is not about what we lose in this world it is what we get in the next the world.

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And the third requirement Jesus gave was…

Follow Me.

The Greek verb means to continue to follow.

The word follow actually means to imitate or to be like Christ.

Which involves being obedient like Jesus was.

Jesus is saying if you want to be saved and go to heaven…

Then say goodbye to self, pick up your cross and let’s go.

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Verse 35…For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

Jesus is saying if you want to hang on to your life and keep control of it, live life your way and keep your sins you can do it if you want to…

Go ahead and enjoy your life but it is temporary and you will lose your life eternally.

But those who deny self and take up their cross for Christ’s sake and the sake of the gospel will receive and enjoy eternal life.

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Self denial, bearing the cross and following Christ happens because we understand our condition without Jesus...

We understand our desperation and we understand the massive glory of the gift of salvation.

Verse 36…For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?

Verse 37…Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

If you a person owned the whole world could they pay the price for their soul?

No but many think they can.22

Jesus is asking…What is of equivalent value to your soul?

Our soul is worth more than anything and everything in this world…

The reason is because this world and everything in it one day will burn.

But the person who gives their soul to the Lord will live forever.

Verse 38…For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man will also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.

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There is a coming judgment.

2nd Thess. Says that Christ will come from heaven with His holy angels in flaming fire to take retribution on those who do not obey the Word of God.

With that Jesus has said in this invitation it is a severe invitation because judgment is attached to it.

It is a tough invitation to hear because it requires self denial, bearing a cross and following Jesus and not our own desires.

So Jesus gives an invitation to identify with Him and His Word and with everything to gain…

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Or to identify with the world that perishing and has everything to lose.

The question tonight is how valuable do you think your soul is worth?

God it was so valuable that He gave His Son to die for it.

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