Printer Friendly VersionWe come today to part three of our series, “The Life You
Were Meant to Live.” The big picture in all of this is simply the idea
that there is enough power in the cross and resurrection of Jesus to transform
our lives. Jesus did not endure the Cross only to secure for us a “someday
heaven.” Jesus died and rose again so that we could be reconciled to
God and that we might truly be changed here and now. But the dilemma I’m
trying to address is this: if this is true then why do so many who profess
faith in Jesus Christ as savior continue to live lives that seem so unchanged?
In all the tragic news this week, did you notice the story about
the little girl who was abducted by her father and was finally found in Wyoming?
The father had killed his estranged wife in Topeka, kidnapped his daughter,
and fled. He finally became so desperate that along Interstate 80 in Wyoming,
he put a gun to his own head. I hate to think about what that precious little
girl may have witnessed. I was especially gripped by the footage of a road
crew picking up the automobile. As they pulled the car up onto the tow truck,
the front license plate area came into view of the TV camera. The plate said,
“Jesus is the answer.” If only people could really believe that.
But what is so easy to see in that situation, we also need to see in our own
lives. Jesus is the answer and Jesus has already provided everything we need
for a fully satisfying and joy-filled life. It’s just that far too often
we can find ourselves even as Christians living beneath our privilege in Christ.
So that’s why we are trying to hear from some key New Testament texts
that show us what it takes to live the life we were meant to live.
[read text]
Peter must have thought he was on top of the world. He was a
rather excitable sort anyway, but his emotions surely had to be at their peak
right here. It had been an amazing, if short, journey toward this climactic
moment. The Jesus movement turned out to be more exciting than he would have
ever dreamed. There’s no way Peter could have been prepared for just
how utterly knock-down powerful his association with Jesus would be. Hundreds
of people with more ailments than you could even list, healed before his very
eyes. Leprosy, lameness, blindness, and paralysis—gone with just a word,
a touch! And walking on water! Feeding thousands from a sack lunch. Peter
lived in an almost constant state of breathlessness—never sure what
he would witness next.
Jesus and the disciples were on a road trip. This time it was up north to
Caesarea Philippi. Not downtown, but to the surrounding villages. Lots of
talk on the way as usual, but this time the conversation was of a different
mood. Jesus was becoming rather confrontational in His speech about their
mission—about why He had come and why all this great stuff was happening.
The disciples though Jesus was looking for some feedback, that He wanted to
know what the polls ere saying—the public opinion about His identity
and purpose.
“Who do people say I am?” He asked them (Mark 8:27).
And they had answers. Any staff worth their salt would, or at least they’d
make something up.
“Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; still others
one of the prophets” (v. 28).
They were right. Public opinion was as variegated as the rainbow.
But then Jesus asked the question. The question they wouldn’t forget
for the rest of their lives, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?”
(v. 29).
This was a moment of truth. An opportunity for them to bare
their souls to Jesus and to let their motives lie exposed. I can see all the
other disciples looking in Peter’s direction as Jesus’ question
falls heavy on their ears. He often seemed to find himself in the role of
spokesperson. They knew what they wanted to say, but did they dare speak the
words? They had lived in hope for so long, could it really be that the one
before them now named Jesus, who in some ways looked so average, so like them—could
it be that He was indeed the one for whom Israel had waited so long?
Peter had made up his mind, so in characteristic boldness he
spoke the words: “You are the Christ” (v. 29). He nailed it! It
was the $64,000 question and he won. And according to Matthew’s Gospel,
Jesus blessed him for his answer. That’s why Peter was on top of the
world. He had made every right move to this point. This thing was shaping
up to be the opportunity of a lifetime. The Kingdom was coming and Peter was
sure he had bagged a corner office. But he was yet to learn that “to
call another ‘Christ’ is to give up the right to define what ‘Christ’
means” as someone so eloquently put it. Before the adrenalin could even
stop coursing through his veins, the rug was pulled out from under his feet.
Peter’s dream world all came crashing down because Jesus had more to
say.
Seizing the opportunity—perhaps hoping they were open
to learning some things about real Kingdom work, Jesus began to teach them
about what it really would mean to be Messiah. No parables now, but bullets.
Straight shooting. Not much room for misunderstanding. Jesus knew He had to
confront a lot of faulty understanding about Messiah. It affected these disciples,
including Peter, as much as anybody else. You remember the popular Messiah
profile? Nationalistic deliverer. Political reformer. The one who would put
Israel on the map once and for all. And if He was going to be that kind of
leader, then you know what it would mean to His best friends. Jobs for everybody!
Power, position, and prestige. So Jesus began to teach them that the Son of
Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the religious leaders, and
that He must be killed and after three days rise again.
I love how the translation I read today puts it: “Peter
took him aside and told him he shouldn’t say things like that”
(v. 32, NLT). Makes you wish you could warn Peter, doesn’t it? “Oh,
Peter don’t do that.” You just know this isn’t going to
be pretty. He couldn’t handle the way Jesus was talking. This is not
Messiah talk; this is crazy talk. Better straighten Jesus out now. He’s
been out in this sun too long. Peter knows the answers. It’s not all
that difficult; he’s been taught these things from his childhood. Why
can’t Jesus get it right? And how quickly Peter goes from receiving
commendation to receiving condemnation. When Jesus saw His disciples wavering,
wondering what to believe, He turned to Peter and rebuked him. Strong words—the
kind of thing spoken to demons to put them in their place. “Get behind
me, Satan. You have no idea how God works.”
With one swift blow, Jesus lays bare the motives of these followers.
Why were they interested in the Kingdom? Were they really saying “Thy
kingdom come, or my kingdom come?” Peter forgot that when you are a
disciple your role is not to guide or protect or possess Jesus; your role
is to follow. And that’s essentially what Jesus reminded him of. When
Jesus rebuked Peter He didn’t say, “Get lost.” He said,
“Get behind me, get back in line.”
“The invitation to follow Jesus, first extended by the
sunny seashore, is now redefined in the shadow of the cross.” Jesus
drew His followers close around Him, and in quiet but serious tones laid it
all on the line. It’s perhaps the most basic Kingdom principle of all:
you die in order to live. Whoever wants to save their life, preserve it, protect
it—will end up losing it. But whoever is willing to lose their life
for the sake of the Kingdom will gain everything. It’s a crazy principle.
It really doesn’t make any sense. You die in order to live. It’s
contrary to every other message we hear in this culture of self-preservation,
but it’s essential to living the life you were meant to live.
The question today is a core question. Are you a Christ-follower?
Now be careful, don’t answer that too quickly without really thinking
it through, or you may be in range for some of the rebuke Peter received.
Do you identify yourself as a Christ-follower? Good, but what does that really
mean to you? Why are you a Christian? Why do you want to be a follower of
Jesus? Is to get into heaven? Is it to get rid of guilt, to find peace in
your life? Is it to make life smoother, more enjoyable? What is your motive
for following this Christ around? Whom do you say He is? Are you so serious
about being part of God’s kingdom that you are willing to give up your
desire for a comfortable life? Are you serious enough to give up your well-oiled,
got-it-down-pat theology? Are you serious enough to give up your job? Your
family? Your ministry? Your life?
Are you dying to live? You cannot be a follower of Jesus; you
cannot be a disciple unless you take seriously the implications of the Cross.
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and
take up his cross and follow me” (v. 34). Now it is true that life with
Christ is filled with unspeakable blessing and the deepest kinds of happiness
and peace. But this is no joy ride. That’s kind of what Peter was on
when the bottom fell out of his world. Sometimes our talk about what it means
to be Christians is so surface and so sentimental it’s sickening. Some
of you are holding onto this world and what it has to offer so tightly your
knuckles are turning white. And yet you still want the benefits of the Kingdom.
Jesus says you let go it’s all going to disintegrate and fall through
your fingers like sand. This world and all it has to offer is temporary. I
know it seems substantial. It seems so important, real, and lasting. It’s
easy to want to hang on and spend our lives trying to be happy in the here
and now. I understand that struggle; I live here too. I find myself sometimes
getting sucked into desiring the kinds of security this world thinks it has
to offer. But as we rush around sacrificing our peace on the altar of materialism,
we hear the voice of Jesus saying, “That’s not real life. That’s
not the Kingdom to which I’ve called you.”
And you know what we do? We’re like Peter, and we try
to straighten Jesus out. We take Him off in a corner and put our arm around
Him and say, “Now come on Jesus, lighten up. You’ve got to stop
all this serious death talk. You’re going to scare off my friends. We’re
just trying to get by and enjoy life a little.”
That’s when we need to hear the rebuke Peter heard: “Get
behind me, Satan.” Life in the kingdom of God is not about preservation.
It’s about laying down your life. It’s about surrendering your
self totally to God and taking the road of the Cross. But the amazing thing
is, the good news is, that life is found in that very surrender. Real life.
Everlasting life. The kind of life for which our hearts really long, the kind
of life we were really meant to live.
So I need to ask you a simple but straightforward question this
morning. Are you willing to die to yourself in order to live for God? Is there
anything is your life that is more important than the kingdom of God? Can
you be honest with that question? It’s real easy to say, “Yeah,
the Kingdom is most important. Jesus is Lord. He’s all I need.”
Really? What does your life say? What does your schedule say? What does your
checkbook say? What would the other people in your life say?
The question of Jesus is for you today. “What good is it if you gain the whole world, but forfeit your soul?” If you try to preserve your life you will just lose it. But if you will lay down your life, if you will lose your life into the purposes of God and his kingdom, then you will truly find the life you were meant to live.
