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Mark 8:34-37
If you don’t have a church home, we invite you to come worship with us and learn how a personal relationship with Christ can take your life to a level of joy you never imagined. This week we are continuing our study in Discipleship. To be a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ one must want eternal life more than anything OF this world. That happens to be exactly what He is teaching in this passage. Notice first:
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- AN APPARENT CONTRADICTION in verse 35. At first reading this verse might cause one to believe a disciple must give their life physically. That isn’t necessarily true because dead disciples don’t disciple effectively! To do what Jesus wants us too in this verse we must return to verse 34 and make the decision to follow Him. Once that decision is made then this verse must be followed also. The essence of this verse is to become so completely absorbed in Matt. 6:33 nothing this world offers bothers us. Ever watch a good movie without commercial interruptions? You almost “live” in the movie, don’t you? However, if you watch a movie on TV just about the time you “get into it” a commercial interrupts the whole thing – and keeps interrupting it! Jesus wants us to “lose our life” in the spiritual blessings of heaven and not let the temporary attractions of this world distract us. When we have those quiet times alone with God and He speaks to us, we allow our hearts to be led by the Holy Spirit to do as He directs. About that time along comes Satan and says “wait a minute! What in the world are you doing?” He puts in a commercial for the world! Unfortunately, we are often “sold” on whatever Satan is selling that we forget what God offered. Jesus helps us understand this apparent contradiction with:
- AN ASTONISHING COMPARISON! Look in verses 36-37. The word “forfeit” means exchanging two things of equal value. Here it is a deeper meaning of Matt. 6:33. The essence of the question here is “what does a man have that equals the value of his eternal soul?” Read 1 John 1:15-17, then ask yourself “do I want to fritter my life away on the stuff of this world or do I want to invest my life in things that will last forever?” Finally, we see:
- AN ARRESTING CONCLUSION! In verse 38 Jesus poses a life and death situation. Consider the verse as Jesus saying to you, “When it’s crunch time, when it is just between you and Me in the final decision for all eternity, do you want Me to be ashamed of you before God the Father, or do you want Me to recommend you to Him?” Consider this question again – what is your soul worth TO YOU? To God it is worth the shed blood of His only Son, Jesus Christ! Consider this, how many commercial interruptions are there in your spiritual life? Knowing that Christ will make the final decision, wouldn’t you want to take advantage of every opportunity to make sure at “crunch time” He would choose in your favor? Your eternity depends on your answer.
If we can help you with this or any other spiritual decision, call us at (574) 643-9419 and let us show you how to live a life of inner joy and peace.
