Sermon Notes - Mark 8:27-38 - Deny Oneself - Littleby Baptist Church - April 16, 2023

1.      Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry we see times where His disciples, the 12, get it.

a.      And we see times where they are missing the point, just like the crowds.

b.      In Mark 8 we see both extremes in a handful of verses.

2.      Mark 8:27-30

a.      This is one of those times that they Got it!

b.      They believed that Jesus is the Messiah.

c.      They did not fully understand what that meant yet.

d.      But they recognized that Jesus was the prophesized Messiah.

e.      They believed He is the Son of God.

3.      Mark 8:31-32

a.      That did not take long.

b.      Jesus started to tell His disciples what He being the Messiah really meant.

c.      It had nothing to do with overthrowing the Roman kingdom.

d.      Mark 8:31

e.      Jesus was going to be rejected, He was going to suffer.

f.       He was going to die.

g.      Isaiah 52:13

h.      But prophecy tells us that Jesus was to be raised up.

i.       He will become the Risen Savior.

4.      These were foreign concepts to those who were following Jesus on that dat..

a.      Expanding on what was going to happen was a shift in Jesus’ teaching.

b.      It was a shock to those who heard this message.

c.      It was not expected and was very hard to hear.

5.      In verse 31 Jesus says it was necessary.

a.      These things must happen.

b.      We see the pieces now.

c.      We know how it plays out.

d.     But Jesus’ point was that He was on earth to do the Father’s will.

e.      These things, as horrible as they were, were necessary.

f.       Peter’s response in these verses, clearly shows that the disciples did not get it.

g.      Everything they were taught growing up about the Messiah did not match with what Jesus had just said.

6.      Mark 8:33

a.      Jesus’ rebuke is strong.

b.      They had learned so much, they understood that He was the Messiah.

c.      But now they are questioning what the Messiah was saying is the Father’s Plan.

d.      Jesus hit them with both barrels to get them to wake up.

e.      Man’s teaching and the Father’s Plan about the Messiah were not aligned.

f.       They needed to listen to God, not man.

g.      Something we all struggle with.

h.      We have things we have learned.

i.       Things we have witnessed, emotions we have felt, our own doubts, uncertainties, anxiety, and fears.

j.       Even our Hope, all impact how we ‘hear’ things.

k.      They impact how we digest what we are taught.

7.      A great example of that is the cross.

8.      Mark 8:34

a.      When we look at the cross, we tend to look at it with reverence.

b.      Some have mistakenly believed that Christians worship the cross.

c.      The reality is it is a symbol that reminds us of what Jesus did for us on that first Good Friday.

d.      The cross as a symbol brings us hope.

e.      It is something we can see with our eyes to focus on.

f.       The thing is, when Jesus made this statement, His death had not happened yet.

g.      The cross was not something that would have brought hope or peace to the people.

h.      The cross was a despicable form of Roman punishment.

                                                    i.     It was a symbol of pain, hatred, and a curse.       

i.       To the Jews of that day the cross would be like us talking about a man in a noose surrounded with a bunch of guys in white robes.

j.       A time of hate, not something we would be proud of, definitely not a time of hope.

k.      Jesus’ statement of taking up one’s cross would be to be telling everyone to deny oneself and die a cursed death.

9.      A hard statement that would push people away, not convey hope.

10.   But it does point us to what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

a.      See Jesus was pointing to the fact that He was going to submit to the Father’s will.

b.      Not His will, not what He wanted, but the Father’s will.

c.      As followers of Jesus, we are to follow His example and submit to the Father’s will.

d.      That does not mean we are all going to face a cursed death.

e.      But it does mean that we are to deny ourselves in pursuit of His will for our lives.

f.       No to self, but yes to God.

g.      John 3:30

h.      John was talking about his and Jesus’ ministries, but it applies to all aspects of our lives.

i.       He must increase in influence of our lives, and our desires should decrease.

11.   Mark 8:35-37

a.      We are to lose our lives for Jesus and His Gospel.

b.      Wealth and power won’t do us any good.

c.      Re-read vs. 37.

d.      What do we have to give?

e.      If we lay everything out before our God.

f.       We ultimately have nothing to give.

g.      We don’t deserve life with Jesus.

h.      We cannot earn an eternity in the presence of the Father.

12.   So, we need to focus on what Jesus had to say.

a.      Follow Him.

b.      Deny oneself.

c.      Simple, yet hard.

d.      Our Lord died on that cross to pay for our sins.

e.      He rose again on the 3^rd day to give us that wonderful blessings of an eternal life in Paradise.

f.       We need to deny ourselves and follow Jesus.

g.      But what does that mean?

13.   Mark 8:38

a.      Adulterous and Sinful Generation.

b.      Adulterous… in this case meaning Spiritually unfaithful.

c.      Those that choose to reject Jesus.

d.      Could be in the form of following another religion, formal or otherwise.

e.      Religions that are open to many other paths, those that distract us from Jesus, those that reduce the power of Jesus’s gift by adding to what is required to be saved, those that flat out call for hating or rejecting Him.

f.       There is only one Creator.

g.      There is only one Savior.

h.      We are to be true to Him.

i.       We are to be spiritually faithful by following Him for all of our days.

14.   Sinful Generation.

a.      If we are human and breath, we are sinful.

b.      No way around that.

c.      Jesus through His death is offering a gift, which some of us choose to accept.

d.      In doing so we are choosing to follow Him.

e.      It is His blood that cleanses us.

f.       It is the work of the Holy Spirit which drives us to follow Him.

g.      Part of that includes that the Holy Sprit will drive us to Deny our sinful desires, to deny ourselves.

h.      But it is not a shaping that happens all on its lonesome.

i.       The Holy Spirit does work in us, but He also uses a lot of other things and people.

j.       We need to choose to follow Jesus.

k.      We need to make Him a priority in our time and our choices.

l.       As a follower of Christ, we are to pray for the Lord’s will to be done on this earth and in us.

m.    Our personal choices are to come after His will.

n.      The Lord’s will for our lives should take precedent.

15.   But how does that play out?

a.      First the work of the Holy Spirit is all over it, we will not draw closer to our Lord without the Holy Spirit.

b.      But one of the big things we need is Discipleship.

c.      This is not some big, complicated thing.

d.      It simply means that we are students.

e.      As followers of Jesus, we are His students, His disciples.

f.       It starts by giving our life to Him.

g.      Do we really talk to Him constantly or only pray at meals or when we need something?

h.      Do we give Him our time to learn His Word?

i.       Are we reading scripture on a daily basis?

j.       Then there is the whole iron sharpening iron portion, where we help each other grow.

k.      It is more than listening to a sermon.

l.       It includes taking part in Sunday School and the conversations that happen there.

m.    Engaging in things like our Ladies’ and Men’s groups.

n.      We help each other as fellow disciples of Christ, every time we gather together.

                                                    i.     We talk about our lives.

                                                   ii.     How we deal with the challenges.

                                                  iii.     The mistakes we make.

                                                  iv.     How we live honoring God.

16.   Denying ourselves and taking up our cross means we are trying to follow our God’s will for our lives.

a.      Willing to set aside our desires for His will.

b.      Willing to put God first.

c.      Willing to make growing as a follower a top priority.

d.     Denying ourselves means we are to give of our time to Jesus.

17.   As we gather this morning, hopefully Jesus’ sees us as people who are following Him and not  ashamed of Him.

18.   Every person only has two options before them.

a.      Are they, we, going to be ashamed of Jesus and reject Him?

b.      Or are we going to be All In as a follower of Christ?

19.   If you do not know Jesus, talk to one of us, talk to me.

a.      We would love to share our Jesus with you.

20.   If you are already a follower of the King of Kings, ask yourself these questions…

a.      Is your faith growing?

b.      Are you talking about your Jesus with others?

c.      Are you sharing your faith?

d.      Are you studying His words?

e.      Are you gathering with others and learning together?

f.       Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you need to grow.

g.      Then listen to Him.

21.   Today is the day, commit to Jesus.

a.      As someone who does not know Him, ask Him to forgive you of your sins and to lead your life.

b.      As a follower, commit to growing, learning, sharing, serving… whatever is missing take that next step.