Embracing Truth: Surrendering to Jesus' Call

Devotional

Day 1: Seeking Truth Beyond Bias

In our journey of faith, we often find ourselves trapped in the cycle of confirmation bias, where we only accept truths that align with our preconceived beliefs. This can hinder our ability to discern the unfiltered truth, especially in spiritual matters. Jesus' teachings challenge us to break free from this cycle and seek truth beyond our biases. By examining the accounts of Jesus' life and teachings, particularly in the Gospel of Mark, we are invited to explore a reliable source of truth that transcends our limited perspectives. Jesus calls us to open our hearts and minds to His message, encouraging us to seek a deeper understanding of faith that goes beyond our personal biases. [38:21]

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2, ESV)

Reflection: What is one belief you hold that might be influenced by confirmation bias? How can you seek God's truth in this area today?

Day 2: Reconsidering Expectations of Jesus

Jesus challenges our expectations of Him and His mission, urging us to reconsider our understanding of His purpose. Unlike the worldly expectations of a Messiah who fulfills personal desires or vanquishes enemies, Jesus' mission was to defeat God's enemy through His suffering and sacrifice. This metaphor of "throwing down the gauntlet" invites us to confront our preconceived notions and embrace a deeper understanding of Jesus' true agenda. By doing so, we are called to align our expectations with the reality of His sacrificial love and redemptive mission. [41:37]

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9, ESV)

Reflection: How have your expectations of Jesus been shaped by cultural or personal influences? What steps can you take to align your understanding with His true mission?

Day 3: Surrendering the Self-Directed Life

Jesus' call to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him is a radical invitation to surrender our self-directed lives. This call is not about losing our identity but about finding true life in Christ. In a culture that values individualism and self-determination, Jesus' message is countercultural, urging us to relinquish control and embrace a life directed by Him. By crucifying the self-directed life, we open ourselves to the abundant life that Jesus offers, one that is rooted in His love and purpose for us. [44:53]

"And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised." (2 Corinthians 5:15, ESV)

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you find yourself holding back from surrendering to Jesus? What would surrendering this area to Him actually look like in terms of daily habits?

Day 4: Embracing Abundant Life in Christ

By relinquishing control and burying our self-directed lives, we open ourselves to the abundant life Jesus offers. This life is not about accumulating worldly possessions or status but about experiencing the fullness of life that God intends for us. Jesus invites us to embrace a life directed by Him, where true fulfillment is found not in temporary gains but in the eternal joy and peace that come from living in alignment with His will. This path to true fulfillment is a journey of faith, trust, and surrender to His loving guidance. [50:04]

"I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10b, ESV)

Reflection: What does living an abundant life in Christ mean to you? How can you begin to prioritize this kind of life over worldly pursuits today?

Day 5: Valuing the Soul Over Worldly Gains

Jesus warns against trading our soul for temporary gains, emphasizing the eternal value of our soul. In a world that often prioritizes material success and achievements, Jesus reminds us that our soul, the essence of who we are, is worth more than any worldly accomplishment. Embracing a Jesus-directed life leads to true fulfillment and the life we were created for. By valuing our soul over temporary gains, we align ourselves with God's eternal purpose and experience the true joy and peace that come from living in His presence. [57:52]

"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways have you been tempted to prioritize worldly gains over the health of your soul? How can you begin to shift your focus towards nurturing your soul today?

Sermon Summary

In today's gathering, we explored the concept of confirmation bias and how it affects our perception of truth, especially in matters of faith and spirituality. We often cling to beliefs that align with our preconceived notions, making it challenging to discern the unfiltered truth. This leads us to the question: where do we find the truth about life's most profound questions? I propose that the accounts of Jesus' life and teachings, particularly those in the Gospel of Mark, offer a reliable source of truth.

In Mark 8:34-38, Jesus presents a challenging message that defies our expectations. He calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. This isn't a call to reject our desires or individuality but to relinquish control over our lives. Jesus challenges us to crucify the self-directed life, a concept that is countercultural in a society that values individualism and self-determination.

The metaphor of "throwing down the gauntlet" illustrates Jesus' challenge to our expectations. Just as medieval knights would challenge each other by throwing down a gauntlet, Jesus challenges us to reconsider our understanding of Him and His mission. His agenda was not to fulfill our desires or crush our enemies but to defeat God's enemy through His suffering and sacrifice.

Jesus' call to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him is a unified demand to surrender our self-directed lives. This surrender is not about losing our identity but about finding true life in Christ. By letting go of our need to control, we open ourselves to the abundant life Jesus offers. This life is not about accumulating worldly possessions or status but about experiencing the fullness of life that God intends for us.

In conclusion, Jesus invites us to bury our self-directed lives and embrace a life directed by Him. This is the path to true fulfillment and the life we were created for. As we accept this challenge, we begin to experience the real, abundant life that satisfies our deepest longings.

Key Takeaways

1. Confirmation Bias and Truth: We often believe what aligns with our existing beliefs, making it difficult to find unfiltered truth. Jesus' teachings challenge us to seek truth beyond our biases, especially in matters of faith and spirituality. [38:21]
2. The Gauntlet of Expectations: Jesus challenges our expectations of Him and life itself. His mission was not to fulfill our desires but to defeat God's enemy through His sacrifice. This challenges us to reconsider our understanding of Jesus and His purpose. [41:37]
3. Crucifying the Self-Directed Life: Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. This unified demand is about surrendering control over our lives and finding true life in Christ. It's a countercultural call to let go of individualism and embrace a life directed by Jesus. [44:53]
4. The Path to True Fulfillment: By relinquishing control and burying our self-directed lives, we open ourselves to the abundant life Jesus offers. This life is not about worldly possessions or status but about experiencing the fullness of life God intends for us. [50:04]
5. The Value of the Soul: Jesus warns against trading our soul for temporary gains. Our soul, the essence of who we are, is worth more than any worldly achievement. Embracing a Jesus-directed life leads to true fulfillment and the life we were created for. [57:52]
** [57:52]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:30] - Introduction to Confirmation Bias
[03:15] - Seeking Unfiltered Truth
[06:45] - The Reliability of Jesus' Accounts
[10:20] - Jesus' Challenging Teachings
[14:00] - The Gauntlet of Expectations
[18:30] - Jesus' True Agenda
[22:10] - Denying the Self-Directed Life
[26:00] - The Call to Take Up the Cross
[30:45] - Finding True Fulfillment
[35:20] - The Value of the Soul
[40:00] - Embracing a Jesus-Directed Life
[44:30] - Conclusion and Prayer
[48:00] - Announcements and Closing Remarks

Sermon Clips

We tend to believe the facts and the figures and the stats and the stories that confirm our already deeply held beliefs. And if something presents itself to us that doesn't line up with our beliefs, that doesn't conform to them, we kind of reject it. It's probably fake news. Probably a conspiracy. Probably not real. Someone's imagination. And so we find ourselves at times when we're honest saying, where can I actually find the truth? [00:35:34] (34 seconds) Edit Clip

So I want to suggest this morning, and I know there are people who disagree, but I think that, as we saw in the video, it's worth going to the source. There's plenty of reason to believe and evidence to believe that the written accounts of Jesus, of his teaching, of his life, of his miracles, are very, very reliable. [00:37:23] (22 seconds) Edit Clip

So Jesus called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? [00:39:25] (31 seconds) Edit Clip

That's not an actual picture of Jesus. We made that up. But that's kind of what I want you to think of when you think of this passage, this unfiltered look at Jesus, what's happening is Jesus is throwing down the gauntlet. He's making a challenge to the people around him. So what challenge is he offering? And I want to suggest this, that Jesus throws down the gauntlet in front of our expectations. [00:42:02] (31 seconds) Edit Clip

They wanted him to ride into town and kick the Romans' butts, basically. Right? They wanted him to use his power to crush their enemies and satisfy their desires. Jesus' agenda, however, was not that. See, Jesus' agenda was to crush God's enemy, not their enemies. Let me say that again. Jesus' agenda was to crush God's enemy, not their enemies. [00:42:57] (38 seconds) Edit Clip

And though Jesus comes along, he says, I want you to crucify the self-directed life. I want you to deny yourself, which by the way, does not mean to deny that you have appetites, interests, desires, skills, gifts, dreams, any of that sort of thing. It doesn't mean to deny that you're a person that has agency. It simply means you deny yourself the role of being the director of your life. [00:47:45] (25 seconds) Edit Clip

Self-denial, as one author put it, takes shape in many ways. For some, it may mean leaving job and family, as the disciples have done. For the proud, it may mean renouncing the desire for status and honor. For the greedy, it means renouncing an appetite for wealth. The complacent will have to renounce the love of ease and comfort. The faint-hearted will have to abandon the craving for security. The violent will have to repudiate the desire for revenge. Deny yourself, Jesus says. Deny yourself. [00:48:44] (43 seconds) Edit Clip

So Jesus says, deny the self-directed life, take up your cross and follow. Follow. If you're following Jesus, it means he's directing your life. Otherwise, you're not following. You're directing your own life. So as I said, this is kind of the unfiltered Jesus. This is a hard sell. It doesn't feel warm and fuzzy. It feels a little bit like I'm giving something up. [00:52:16] (31 seconds) Edit Clip

He's talking about taking the self-directed life and burying it, right? That's what we do when things die. We put them in the ground. Burying it in order to be raised to new life. And by the way, if you've been here at Seneca Creek for one of our baptism celebrations, which we have another one coming up in the middle of May, that's what's baptism. It's this enormously powerful picture of being buried to the old life and being raised to new life in Christ. [00:53:46] (33 seconds) Edit Clip

Only when we do this, only when we are willing to put the old life in the ground, will we begin to experience the fullness of life that we're actually longing for. Something inside of us is like, I know there's something more. I know this is not all there is. And Jesus is saying, the way that you're going to get to that is by letting go of trying to run your own life. [00:54:19] (24 seconds) Edit Clip

You will never be more alive than when you learn to give your life away. It seems so counterintuitive. We want to hold on to things. And Jesus says, the way to experience life is to let go. And after Jesus says this in our passage, he makes this statement in Mark 8, verse 36 and 37. What good is it, right? So he talks about whoever wants to lose their life, right? But then he says, what good is it for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? [00:56:17] (40 seconds) Edit Clip

Jesus challenges the cheap substitutes for life that we are tempted to make, right? Whether it's a few followers or a few dollars or a few kudos or a few toys, don't forfeit your life for some cheap alternative. So in another statement, famous statement by Jesus, he addresses this a little more directly, ways that maybe we can associate with it. Matthew 6, 25, perhaps you've heard this before. I tell you, Jesus says, don't worry about your life, your psuche, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food? [00:57:50] (40 seconds) Edit Clip

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