Ij

The Life in Jesus challenge

Mark 8:31-38

Sunday March 12, 2006

Jesus wanted us to understand...

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be

rejected by the elders, chief priests and 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 disciple, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind

me Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things

of men." Mark 8:31-33 NIV

There's only one way to really live..

Jesus said, "If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who

throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever

know what it means to really live." Mark 8:35 LB

And Jesus laid it out in three steps..

Then he called the crowd to him along with the disciples and said: "If anyone

would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow

me."

Mark 8:34 NIV

This is the Life in Jesus challenge...

1. Put God and others before yourself

We live in a society that says live only for yourself, think only of yourself, and

pursue your own rights--and the results are all around us. Everything from

aggressive driving to corporate greed to sexual immorality. As a culture, we're

dying of terminal selfishness. Jesus says live differently. Go against the flow.

De-throne your "self-centeredness and selfishness". Jesus said: "If anyone would

come after me he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me..."

Luke 9:23 NIV

Jesus says deny yourself daily. In other words he must make it a daily habit.

Every once in a while does no good. I've noticed what happens when I exercise

only once in a while. It feels great the first time... Then it really hurts and if I give

in to the hurt and don't go back I never make any progress...in fact, that kind of

once-in-while exercising actually discourages me from exercising and eating well!

The self-denial that Jesus calls for works the same way. f you just deny yourself

every once in a while, between times you're just as self serving as everybody else.

Self denial is not one grand decision made once and for all. It's a daily decision of

small choices, often painful choices, in which I choose to put the LORD, and his

will and other people ahead of my own.

So what does it mean to deny yourself? The Bible puts it this way, in very

practical terms: "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also

to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus

who...made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant..." Phil. 2:4, 5, 7

NIV

What does it mean to deny yourself--to live as Jesus would...to dethrone yourself

and look to the interests of others?

When you can watch your peers and those close to you prosper and succeed

without feeling jealous but rather rejoice in their success, then you know the

meaning of deny yourself.

When you can see other people attain goals you've failed to reach and see

others receive rewards and recognition that you'd like to have without being

envious, that's denying yourself.

When you choose to serve your wife or husband or children and put their

needs ahead of yours, that's denying yourself.

When you share your faith at work or school knowing that you may be

insulted or put down, that's denying yourself.

When you don't seek praise or fish for compliments and approval from

others and when you can live without constantly being recognized and applauded,

that's denying yourself.

When you draw out the other person in conversation rather than telling your

stories and opinions, that's denying yourself.

When you can accept criticism willingly and learn from it with a teachable

attitude, that's denying yourself.

When you place the comfort of others ahead of your own comfort, when you

allow others to do a job that you know you're better trained to do, when you submit

to authority over you in deference to God even though you don't understand or

agree, that's denying yourself.

When you can be content with less than the best of circumstances without

griping or complaining, when you can accept interruptions that God places in your

schedule and patiently endure irritations, that's denying yourself.

When people break promises to you and let you down and you refuse to

become bitter, when you are misjudged unfairly and your motives are questioned

and you don't retaliate, that's denying yourself.

When you are content to let God settle the score and content to wait for your

reward in heaven, that's denying yourself.

When you have the attitude of Jesus Christ, that's denying yourself.

This is the hardest message I ever share. But Jesus put it first on the list for a

reason. And the reason is this: The greatest battle you and I will ever face is the

battle against self-centeredness and selfishness. It is life's fundamental challenge.

It makes the difference between a winner and a loser, a believer and an unbeliever,

a giver and a taker.

And Jesus says it's the only way to live: Jesus said, "Only those who throw away

their lives for My sake and the sake of the good news will ever know what it means

to really live." The alternative is to stand before God one day and try explaining to

Him why your theme song was "I did it my way"..

We need Jesus help to de-throne the self... And if don't win this battle--if we

don't take this first step--we'll never get to the next two steps that Jesus says are

essential to a life worth living:

2. Put Service before Security

Jesus said: "If anyone would come after me he must... take up his cross."

Mark 8:34

NIV

God is looking for a few men and women who will put service before security.

How many have seen the commercial on TV with the big white egg that is

carefully delivered to people's homes--and lovingly received? That's the nest

egg! Today's value systems tell you to do everything you can to build a nest egg

to provide security for yourself. Your whole goal in life is to become secure and

financially independent. And security becomes the goal instead of service.

But I can't tell you the number of people I talk to who are dying in their jobs.

Bored and unfulfilled--they hate their job; it's just a living. They've lost the spirit

of adventure they had when they were younger. They aren't risking anything

anymore. They don't have anything to live for, any challenge, any goals bigger

than themselves and their nest egg.

Jesus said: "Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of

the Good News will ever know what it means to really live." Mark 8:35 LB

Jesus didn't just talk about giving one's life away--He did it. The cross he took

up was unique, because His death on that cross put away all our sins past present

and future, so that we can enjoy a purpose filled life that will last forever! But

when he invites us to live our lives as he would, he is inviting us to follow his

example--to take up the cross of sacrificially giving ourselves away for the sake

of serving others.

Why should I care about serving others? Because Jesus said "here's the

equation for happiness: Helpfulness = Happiness". Only those who give their

lives away in service--in service to Jesus and His Good News--only those will

ever know what it means to really live! I doubt if Mother Teresa ever worried

about low self esteem. I can't imagine her sitting in a corner saying, "Poor me!

My world's falling apart! I'm so depressed!" I doubt she wrestled with boredom

and lack of fulfillment as she picked up the dying from the streets of Calcutta.

She didn't think of herself less. She just didn't think of herself at all. She

concentrated on others.

Jesus Christ is looking for people with courage who will serve Him, who are

willing to risk for the Kingdom of God, and who are willing to go for broke--

to serve with reckless abandonment! The Apostle Paul put it this way in his letter

to the Romans: And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your

bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice the kind he will accept.

When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don't copy

the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new

person by changing the way you think... Romans 12:1-2 NLT

Don`t accept the world's standards: the world says Get all you can. Jesus says the

exact opposite: Give all you can. In Paul's words: "Offer yourself"-- that means

volunteer. What have I volunteered for lately for the cause of Christ and the

Good News? "Be a living sacrifice"-- What are you sacrificing for the cause of

Jesus Christ? You've got 168 hours this next week--I challenge you to invest it

in unselfish service somewhere--through your church, in your community,

somewhere. Live your life as Jesus would--give it away--and He promises that

you'll find it!

3. Put Significance before Success

If you're an average American you're going to live about 70 years or 25,550 days.

If you live to your 70th birthday you will spend 23 years of your life sleeping.

You will spend 17 years of your life working. You will spend 11 years of your life

watching TV and playing. You will spend 6 years of your life traveling. You will

spend 6 years of your life eating. You will spend 2 years of your life getting ready.

You will spend 1 year of your life going to church.

Is that really what a successful or even a significant life is all about?

What are you going to do with your life? You really only have three alternatives.

You can spend your life. You can waste your life. Or you can invest your life.

Jesus said: "If anyone would come after me he must... follow me."

Mark 8:34 NIV

Jesus made a conscious choice to invest his life in significance before success.

He chose to suffer and die for our sins, to open for us a whole new way of life.

And by the world's standards it was a failure. That's why Peter pulled Jesus aside

and began to rebuke him! Because the life Jesus was describing was not a life of

success--no armies to command, to parliaments or congresses to rule, no riches to

amass. And at every turn, if you read the stories about him, you'll find him

deliberately leaving the crowds and the success of ministry to move toward

something bigger than himself, bigger than success.

Jesus put the decision between a life of significance, or a life of success, this

way: he said : "Whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what

can a man give in exchange for his soul?"

Mark 8:35b-37 NIV

All day long you and I are exchanging our lives for something. And one of the

ironies of life is this: The time we spend exchanging our lives, and our precious

time, in the pursuit of success is no guarantee that people will remember us--no

guarantee that we will leave a legacy, The moment you set a goal and you achieve

it, somebody later is going to surpass it. Given enough time, all your trophies are

going to be trashed because somebody is going to break your record.

And on top of that, success will not satisfy your soul. That's why you have to

keep achieving. You reach a certain goal and you think, "I did it!" But a few days,

a few weeks later the feeling wears off. So you have to go after another goal,

another challenge. It's never enough.

Jesus knows that--and that's why he offers a different way of life! That's why

the Life in Jesus challenge is all about shifting the focus of your life from

success to significance: from "What can I GET out of this life?" to "What can I GIVE

BACK to make this world a better place, and the people around me better people?"

Significance lies in giving yourself to a cause that is greater than yourself. And

Jesus spells out exactly what that cause is: He says you and I will find out what it

really means to live when we give ourselves away for His sake and for the sake of

the Good News.

The author of Hebrews put it this way:

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy

set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right

hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 NIV

Jesus endured the pain and the shame of the cross for the JOY of defeating

the powers of evil that corrupt and destroy us, for the JOY of freeing us to

experience God's highest hopes for us, and for the JOY of winning for us a life

that will never end. That's what we call a LEGACY--investing your life in

something that will out last you. And that's why the author of Hebrews says "If

you want to know what to do with your life, take a clue from Jesus. Fix your eyes

on Him. Follow Him. Invest your life in His causes, in His loves, in His Kingdom

and in His Good News and you'll leave a legacy--something that will outlast you

(ILLUSTR: Jake's comments at a meeting last week.. "Grow from ministry...")

CONCL: You and I cannot will this life in Jesus into being. We have to

surrender our life to Jesus Christ...Where are you this morning? 1. Putting God

and others before yourself? 2. Putting service before security? 3. Putting

significance before success?...

The Rev. J. Philip Ashey

13314 Pennypacker Lane Fairfax, VA 22033