By Bro. Matt Perry, Pastor
Boone’s Creek Baptist Church, Lexington, KY
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Vacation
Bible School kicks off today! How exciting it is that this coming week, dozens of children from grades Pre-Kindergarten
through 6th grade will descend upon our church. Many come because
they already are involved with this church. I’ve had people call saying
that their children came last year and would really like to come again because they had such a good time. For others, this is their first time. They may have received
a flyer that you have passed out during this past month or their parents may have seen our VBS page in the Internet or in
the newspaper or heard the ad on K-Love.
But whatever the
reason may be, we know that at dozens of children will come to our church for a week of fun.
In the process, our teachers and workers will have the opportunity to invest in eternity. You, dear teachers, will have a chance to show them Jesus Christ.
This VBS’ Theme
is “Ramblin’ Road Trip™: Which Way Will You Go?” The road trip will take us all across America. We’ll start in Washington, DC, then move on to Chicago, then to Lebanon, KS;
then to Yellowstone National Park; then lastly to Knotts’ Berry Farm in California.
But the road trip will be more than just showing children about different areas of our country, but the trip will help
lead them to understand the ‘road’ that God has laid out for everyone in leading them to salvation by His grace
alone through faith alone.
We have such a great privilege
and responsibility in telling these little ones about Jesus, don’t we? Jesus
even said, “Let the little children come unto me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the Kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). Last week, we saw how we are to discipline and educate our children --- but Jesus here shows how children
are incredible teachers in showing us the attitude we need as citizens of the Kingdom.
My desire for all of you
who are teachers and workers in VBS is to rightly model the character of Christ and to rightly convey His gospel. Our churches nowadays make the demands of the Gospel and Christianity something that’s so easy to
do --- but in reality, it is not. In reality, coming to Christ is costly. Yes, Christ paid for our sins on the
cross, so when we trust in Him to forgive us our sins, we receive our salvation freely!
In fact, Romans 5:15 calls salvation a “free gift.”
But as we read the Scriptures,
and especially this passage in Mark 8:31-9:1, we see that being a disciple of Jesus Christ will indeed cost you everything! Look with me at this passage.
So many churches don’t
want to make the Gospel too hard. And with VBS and promoting to them the ABC’s
of salvation, we tend to show everyone how easy it is to become a Christian, but we forget the backend of it. Jesus tells us that we will ‘suffer,’ ‘be killed for His name’s sake,’ ‘be
brought before the authorities,’ how our families will hate us --- that this is part and parcel of the Christian life. And when so many come to Christ, they are not warned about this essential truth that
they wither away when the heat of trials and tribulations come along.
Now, I will say
this before I begin --- some will try to take the force of this passage away and say, “This was only meant for the apostles
and the leaders in the church --- Jesus could not have possibly meant this for everyone!” But notice that when Jesus said this, to whom was He speaking? It
says that “He called to him the crowd with his disciples and said to them”
(Mark 8:34a).
We must tell them what
the Gospel is truly all about. And there are three things that are involved in
being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
1.
Lay it down.
What are we to lay down? Jesus tells the crowd first that they must “deny themselves.” We must lay ‘self’ down. We must lay down all
that we consider ours: our rights, our demands, our all. William Lane says,
Jesus stipulated that those who wish to follow him must be prepared to
shift the center of gravity in their lives from a concern for self to reckless abandon to the will of God. The central thought in self-denial is a disowning of any claim that may be urged by the self, a sustained
willingness to say ‘No’ to oneself in order to be able to say ‘Yes’ to God. This involves a radical denunciation of all self-idolatry and of every attempt to establish one’s
own life in accordance with the dictates of the self.
Goodness! After that paragraph, we could almost extend an invitation right now, couldn’t we? We are not the center of the universe! Christ is! And I am amazed at how often we must remind ourselves of that fact.
But if it’s any consolation, those who spent those three years with Him during His earthly ministry needed constant
reminders. For us and for those disciples, there has to be another way than this
--- but not for the follower of Christ.
Remember the context
of this passage. Jesus has just commended Peter for correctly identifying who
He is: “The Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus is the Messiah, the long-awaited Anointed One. Their
promised Deliverer! Yet, Peter only
got this right through what the Father had revealed to him. That’s the
only way Peter could understand this, and that’s the only way we can as well. Paul reminds us that “no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus
is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3b).
Yet after this confession
that Jesus is the Christ, He follows it up with a statement that went every bit against their understanding of what the Messiah
should be. “And he begin 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.” Jesus in two paragraphs had been referred to as the Son of God (with the understand
of the disciples that this was God the Son standing before them!) and the Son of Man, the One in brilliance and glory mentioned
in Daniel:
I saw in the
night visions,
and behold,
with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came
to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
[14] And to
him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples,
nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion
is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom
one
that
shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14).
Both of those images
were invoked. This was the King of Kings, Lord of lords --- God in the flesh! And now He was talking about how He must
suffer many things! He was ultra clear about this (v. 32).
Peter (and the rest of
the disciples, for that matter) could not bear it. “Could the Lord not
understand what He is saying? He’s the Son of God, the Son of Man!” It must be said that Peter had genuine love and affection for the Lord. He even felt that he would die for Him! He was ready to go
to war for His Lord! So, out of love and zeal, He ‘took Him aside’
--- and the idea is that he did so rather forcefully --- and began to rebuke the Lord.
Jesus turned to
Peter and saw the disciples looking on and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For
you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
Not “Get behind me, Peter.” Not “Get behind Me, Simon.” “Get behind Me, Satan!”
What a turn of events
for Peter. One moment, he is speaking the very truth that His Father revealed
to Him. Then the next moment, he is being called Satan! How could this be? If
we remember when Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He said, “Be gone, Satan!
For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve” (Matthew 4:11). Why did Peter receive this same response?
Because anytime we move with the things of man in mind rather than the things of God, we become instruments of Satan
himself. Satan will use all the methods at his disposal to get our minds
off the things of God. He may use temptations to sin, bitterness toward your
friend or neighbor, hardships from your past. He may use good things, too, such
as devotion to family, hobbies, job --- even church things. He’ll do whatever
to get your mind off the things of God. It may seem subtle and harmless, but
it is very dangerous.
Paul shows the danger
in Romans 8:5-7:
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things
of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it
cannot.
There’s a math equation
for you: setting your mind on the flesh equals death. Setting your mind on the things of God? Life and peace. Setting your mind on flesh equals hostility to God!
Oh that we could say along
with Paul:
For our boast is this: the testimony of our conscience that we behaved
in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.
2.
Take it up.
Take what up? Jesus says next that we must “take up our cross” (Luke adds the adverb
‘daily’ to this incredible saying). You
know well by now that the cross was a heinous form of execution totally associated with the horrid death of a criminal. No Roman citizen could be subject to this form of execution, for it was that unspeakable.
The cross was equated
with death --- that must be understood. This is not a denial of self in some
pseudo-spiritual, quasi-experiential method. This was death --- complete, total,
unequivocal, and final!
And by you taking up your
cross, you show that you are willing to do
it!. Christ is not there twisting your arm like the Roman soldiers
did Simon the Cyrene, forcing him to carry Christ’s cross to Calvary. No, on the contrary --- if you have been gripped by the grace of Christ, if you have
truly denied yourself, you not only take up your cross --- you relish the opportunity to sacrifice all that you are for all
that Christ is!
Look with me if you will
at the following verses in Mark 8:35-37:
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 life? For what can a man give in return for his
life?
I went to college
in West Palm Beach.
I cannot think of a setting more beautiful than the place where Palm
Beach Atlantic University
is located. We could sit on the east part of the campus and look out over the
Intercoastal into Palm Beach.
An alumnus pointed out to us where the Trumps and the Kennedys would vacation.
As a member of our concert choir, I had a change to sing in museums and homes and hotels and churches whose décor none
of us could afford in 10 lifetimes.
I think of those in Palm Beach and, I confess, stood in awe at the beauty and the glamour
of these places. But then it would hit me over and over: these people have the whole world at their fingertips, but what
about their soul? Some of you would die for just a bucketful of that fortune
and influence --- but what of it? What good will it do you for eternity? When you die, that bucket stays here! That
fortune --- here! That influence --- here!
But we are easily
deceived, aren’t we? Matthew Henry rightly warns: “When the devil is drawing away disciples and servants after him, he conceals the worst of it, tells
them only of the pleasure, but nothing of the peril, of his service.” Sin
is fun. Sin brings immediate delight. Sin
is accompanied by a severe adrenaline rush. And that’s the incentive that
the Adversary puts before us. But he hides the whole effect.
If you are not willing
to take up your cross and to die daily to self and come alive to Christ, then the obvious choice you are making is that you
wish to save some part of your self, some part of your life! What part of your
life are you clinging to? Your family?
Jesus says:
"Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers
or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who
will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with
persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life (Mark 10:29-30).
What about your job? Ecclesiastes 2:18-20 says that your toil will be worthless:
I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave
it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or
a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, because
sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did
not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.
The fruit of your labor
will be gone and your opportunity for life through the Gospel will be lost. What
about wisdom and education? Are you banking on that? Isaiah 29:14 says,
“. . . therefore,
behold, I will again
do wonderful things with this people,
with wonder upon wonder;
and the wisdom
of their wise men shall perish,
and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden."
What about your
friends? We remember a picture of hell in Luke 16 where there was torment of
everlasting fire and everlasting loneliness!
No one wants to lose their
life --- unless there is something far greater than even one’s own life. And
there is. Your work will ruin and wither and be given over to someone else; your
wisdom will deteriorate and be brought to nothing outside of Christ. Your friends
outside of Christ last only so long. What is better than life? What lasts?
Jesus says, “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 life (‘soul,’ NASB)?
For what can a man give in exchange for his life?” The answer. Not one blessed thing!
3.
Move along.
Jesus then says that after
you deny yourself and take up your cross, then you may follow Him. When you follow
Christ, you do so by being justified by grace through faith. Your sin that was
against your account has been paid for through the cross of Christ by His grace through faith.
In this we are identified with Him in every last aspect of our lives. We
love Him! We are united with Him! We
bear His name: “Christian.”
Yet, if we instead of
denying ourselves we embrace ‘self,’ then we deny Him. Simon Peter
has nothing on us. When Peter denied Christ during His trial, he denied Him because
He was ashamed at the thought of being identified with Him. His concern was not
for Christ, but for the crowd around Him. At that point Peter wanted to save
his reputation --- his life! But by doing that, he showed at that point he was
ashamed of his Savior.
And that is us, dear friend! When we look after self, when we are the sun in our universe and all the activities
and thoughts and words rotate around self rather than Christ, we have denied Christ, preferring our rule to His! Preferring our life to His! Preferring our good news to His
Gospel!
You may say, “Bro.
Matt! I know I’m not a Christian, but when I am involved in these things
that I love doing and don’t want to give up, it’s really nothing personal toward Christ. I’m not doing these things thinking, ‘Oh! How
I hate Christ! How I reject Him!’
On the contrary, I have a very deep respect for Him. In fact, I pray occasionally…
I read the Bible from time-to-time … I try to be a good, moral, and decent person.
So it’s nothing personal toward Christ. I’m just not ready
for such a change.”
Dear friend, however
you want to put it and phrase it and justify your rejection of Him away, you must remember what Jesus said: “Whoever is not against us is for us!” (Mark 9:40).
What about you, dear Christian! Is your life one of being ashamed of our Savior and Lord through your actions? Do you long to fit-in with the crowd or focused on the Christ? The Psalmist declares:
I have told the glad news
of deliverance
in the great congregation;
behold, I have
not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
[10] I have
not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not
concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from
the great congregation (Psalm 40:9-10).
Our Savior went
to the cross of suffering and shame (Hebrews 12:2) but as we saw last week, He despised the shame for the joy before Him. Dear friends, there is joy before you! Life! Heaven! Hope! Peace! Your Savior and Lord!
That’s the joy that is before you! Don’t be ashamed of our
Savior! Don’t be ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto
salvation unto all who would believe (Romans 1:16).
This, dear friends,
is the Gospel. Our salvation was paid for freely --- but living the life for
Jesus will cost us everything! Christ tells us to count the cost! He tells us that in order to follow Him, we must lay down our lives and take up our cross before we can
move along with Him. But we are willing
to give up our all for that we treasure most!
Is Christ your treasure? Are you willing to forsake all the world so that your soul may belong to Him? Are you willing to be put to open shame, so long as Christ is not put to shame by
you?
