GOD WANTS ME TO DO WHAT?

May 27, 2016

GOD WANTS ME TO DO WHAT?

Mark 8:27–38

Hope Harris

Central Truth

Surrender is the trademark of a true follower of Christ.

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?" (Mark 8:34b-37)

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life^{1

8:35
The same Greek word can mean either soul or life, depending on the context; twice in this verse and once in verse 36 and once in verse 37} will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Footnotes

[1] 8:35 The same Greek word can mean either soul or life, depending on the context; twice in this verse and once in verse 36 and once in verse 37

Today’s passage starts with the proclamation,“You are the Christ,” and ends with the mandate “take up [your] cross and follow me.” It reflects my story, which starts in 2009 when I placed my faith in Jesus as my Savior. I didn’t fully understand who He was and was clueless what it meant to be a Christian. It was a simple decision, and in my mind I envisioned becoming a part of a gay-affirming church, of my failing relationship being restored, and of going on with life. When I told my partner, she confirmed the idea of becoming part of a gay-affirming church. The words that came out of my mouth next changed everything: “No, I have become a real Christian.” I knew that statement would be costly. It started with the end of my long-term relationship, moving from Seattle to East Texas and being radically amputated from the gay community.

That whirlwind of events left me alone and in the middle of nowhere. It was me and Jesus. I began reading the Bible. As I read the Gospels, Romans, and 1 & 2 Corinthians, I began to understand who Jesus is and acknowledged that He is the Messiah. Upon my second reading of the Gospels, I was confronted by Jesus’ words in Mark 8:34-37 (The Message): “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. . . . Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?”

This passage coupled with today’s “Tweetable Truth” challenged me to make a decision to surrender my supposed “authentic self” to God and discover my “true self.” Was my sexual identity worth losing my soul? I had discovered a new life in Jesus, but the most important aspect of me threatened to separate me from it. After eighteen months of wrestling with my faith and sexuality, I chose to surrender my sexuality to God, and have since discovered my “true self” in Christ.

1. Who is Jesus to you? Have you surrendered your life to Him?

2. Have you embraced Jesus’ mandate to “take up your cross and follow me”? Does it only apply to the insignificant aspects of your life or to all aspects of your life?

3. Are there areas of your life that have more value to you than anything else, and do you wrestle with surrendering them to God?

4. Are these things worth losing your soul over? What will you do with Jesus’ mandate?

5. Do you or someone you know wrestle with issue of faith and sexuality? Check out the following resources: http://www.livehope.org and http://www.watermark.org/dallas/blog/10-resources-to-help-you-talk-about-homosexuality-and-transgender-biblically