Title: Following Jesus / Mark 8:31-38
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Bible: Mark 8:31-38 Title: Follow Jesus
Date: 1997. 8.17 Place: Jugok Church
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Today's passage tells the story of what follows Jesus' question to his disciples, "Who do you think I am?" and Peter's famous confession, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Even though Peter made the most outstanding confession of faith, he soon became a member of Satan. As Jesus teaches that you will suffer, die, and be resurrected, Peter quickly catches Jesus and sees Jesus stop him from doing it. Then Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan; you do not think about the things of God, but the things of men." Even though Peter made the greatest confession of faith, he became a foolish believer who only thought about the things of men and not the things of God.
Based on the words of today's text, we testify of the life of following Jesus and the life of thinking about God's work.
I. Self-denial - following Jesus is first self-denial.
This is not just about controlling one's desires.
To deny oneself means to give up oneself completely. It is throwing away my attachments, my complacency, my selfishness, and my pride. A typical example of this can be found in the figure of the disciples who were called by Jesus.
Peter, Andrew, James, and John - they left their boats (a means of livelihood), their fathers, and followed Jesus. The tax collector Matthew gave up his lucrative job to follow Jesus. Abraham left his homeland, his relatives, and his hometown to follow God.
What a man is most obsessed with is his job and his hometown. So some people can see people working in those professions, passing them down from generation to generation. You can also see that many people are obsessed with what they do and want their children to do the same. The mainland relative's father's house refers to his family and hometown. Home is what people are most attached to. Sakhalin
It is said that the wish of our compatriots living in Ina Yanbian is to visit their homeland before they die.
In order to follow Jesus, you have to let go of what you are obsessed with. Peter could not even visit his mother-in-law, who was ill while following Jesus, and Jesus told a disciple not to go to the dead (do not go to a funeral, do not go to see the body of the dead) and follow me. You can see that the way to follow Jesus is self-denial.
Yes)
Dr. Schweitzer gave up his pride (Ph.D. - Theology, medicine, music) to follow Jesus and lived a life of following Jesus in a remote African country.
Paul, a Pharisee among the Pharisees, did not boast of his Roman citizenship and became a servant of the Lord who only followed Jesus.
Denying oneself means that the goal of life and action is not self, but God (Jesus). To deny oneself means that there is no self in oneself, but Jesus is present.
It means that you do not have your own thoughts, your words, your will or your actions, but only the thoughts of Jesus, the words of Jesus, the will of Jesus, and the actions of Jesus.
Peter made a surprising confession in words, but he could not deny himself. Therefore, they tried to block the way of the Lord. As a result, he became a fool who listened to rebuke.
I hope that you will deny me now, have only Jesus in me, and become believers who stop following me.
II. take up your cross
It is often misunderstood that we take up our own cross. the life we live
And we think of sorrow as our own cross. But the cross means to make the suffering and death of Jesus into one's own life.
The problem with the saints today is that they do not want to take up the cross. So this word was born. The cross will be carried by the Lord, and I will receive the glory. The reality is that many pioneering churches are closed these days. Saints who do not carry the cross and want to receive only glory and blessings are becoming members of the Great Churches. Of course, this does not mean that the Great Church is unnecessary. However, there is a problem that the members who do not want to carry the cross flock to the Grand Church and become sleeping members. Because of the many members of the church, I can't see myself, so I can do a little less service, and even if I miss church little by little, no one bothers me, so I live a life of faith that pursues comfort.
It is said that there is even a 3D phenomenon in the church. It's not about doing bad things. Church school teachers who do not do kitchen work and do not appear do not want to do it. No, now there is a golden almighty idea that all you need to do is donate a lot to the church. If it rains and the basement of the church fills with water, no one cares.
But Jesus tells us to take up the cross. Today, we must bear the cross of suffering and death that the Lord bore, participate in the suffering and death of Jesus, and become followers of Jesus.
One's cross has another meaning. What does the cross mean to Jesus? That is the mission God gave him for the salvation of mankind. The mission of Jesus is to save mankind by being the propitiation sacrifice for the sins of mankind on the cross. It is Jesus who wants you to bear the cross of mission. To take up your cross and follow Jesus today means to follow Jesus while carrying out the mission entrusted to you. Elders, Kwons, deacons, teachers, presidents, officers, finance officers, missionaries You have to follow the mission entrusted to you and follow Jesus. In addition, we must go on that path while carrying out the basic missions entrusted to us by the saints (evangelism, almsgiving, and service).
Believers who follow the Lord today should bear the cross of the Lord's suffering and death, bear the cross of the mission entrusted to them, and become believers who follow the Lord.
?? Giving your life (35)
If I lose my life for me and for the gospel, I will save it. There is salvation for those who give their lives for Jesus and his gospel. There is a history of saving one's life.
Example ) [Some stupid passenger]
A steamship from London to New York was on the verge of sinking into the sea due to engine failure along with a sudden storm. The captain tried to save the passengers, but to no avail. He had no choice but to wait for the rescue team to arrive. As the ship gradually sinks and the passengers turn white in the face of death, only a poisonous passenger struggles to squeeze through the passengers and descend into the cabin. The captain blocked him and said, "It's dangerous to go down to the cabin. This ship is sinking. Rescue teams will come, so hurry up on the deck."
However, the passenger was reckless despite the captain's reluctance. "It's useless
don't and get away In my cabin I have a trunk with all my fortunes. I can't throw it away. It is as precious as my life."
The passenger pushed the captain and went down to the cabin where the water was coming in. Moments later, miraculously, rescue teams arrived. A passing ship had heard the steamer's rescue call signal. The passengers were so happy that their lives were saved, hugging them tightly and crying. After a while, all the passengers crossed over to the rescue boat. So, the only thing left to do now is to quickly transfer to a safe boat. The captain begged the passengers to wait for a while for the passengers who had gone to the cabin to collect their trunks, but the storm was raging and they couldn't wait. By the time their boat reached safety, the captain could see the passenger struggling to climb onto the deck with the trunk loaded. But by that time, the boat was almost sinking.
1 Samuel 12:21 ?쏷urn and not pursue vain things that do not profit or save, for they are vain.??The image of a foolish man who gave his life for lifeless things is what we are
I think this is not it. Not a person who lays down his life for money, fame, power, or pleasure, but for the sake of Jesus and the gospel, so that he has a long life on this earth and enjoys the blessing of eternal life. wish.
The way to follow Jesus is to spare our lives, and Stephen, Paul, Peter, other disciples of the Lord, and our forefathers of faith have taken that path. We, too, must become saints on that path.
IV. Not ashamed of me and my words - boasting.
Peter and his disciples were ashamed of Jesus. So they abandoned Jesus and ran away. Even though Peter went to the trial of Jesus, a young visa asked if he was also with Jesus, so he denied Jesus and ran away. Maybe it was because Judas Iscariot sold Jesus because he was ashamed of Jesus.
People love to brag.
Example) A lawyer's pride
A young lawyer started a business. On the morning of the opening day, a man came to visit him. Then the young lawyer quickly picked up the phone and began to say, "Yes, Chairman, if that's the case, you should leave it to me." The lawyer wanted to brag that Ziggy had a lot of work to do. There is a story that after holding up the phone and talking for a while, when he asked the person who came to him, "Why are you here?", he said, "You have connected the phone today, but are you doing so well without connecting the phone?" It is a story that depicts the nature of human beings to be proud of.
Be proud of buying clothes. - I can't even put out cheap clothes because I'm shy.
tea -
jewelry -
Your child's grades -
House -
If you have a little something good, you are proud of it. Even if we have these things, we don't brag about it because it's cheap, and if it's a fake fake. But when it's real, we brag.
We believers should be proud of Jesus and his words.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. It is a good thing that cannot be compared with cars, clothes, jewelry, and anything else.
He is truth, life, and truth. Therefore, we boast in Jesus
is natural. If we do not brag about Jesus and his words, we are ashamed of Jesus, and we think of Jesus as fake and cheap.
If we are believers who follow Jesus, we are pleased with Jesus and
I hope that you will be known to all nations and become a proud saint.
following Jesus
saint's life
Denying myself and making the Lord my center
Taking up your cross, overcoming any pain for the Lord, carrying out the given mission,
Enjoy the blessing of eternal life by giving your life for the Lord
It is to boast of Jesus to all nations.