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Scripture Reading

Scripture Reading. Matthew 16:21-26. To Find Your Life You Must Lose It. PARADOX Series [1] Matthew 16:21-26. AN OVERVIEW OF OUR NEW SERIES, “PARADOX”. What is paradox?

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Scripture Reading

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  1. Scripture Reading Matthew 16:21-26

  2. To Find Your Life You Must Lose It PARADOX Series [1] Matthew 16:21-26

  3. AN OVERVIEW OF OUR NEW SERIES, “PARADOX” • What is paradox? • According to Merriam-Webster, paradox is “a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true.” • According to G. K. Chesterton: “Paradox is truth standing on its head and waving its legs to get our attention.” • Why is the way of Jesus paradoxical? • Jesus’ way is radically different from the world’s ways. • Jesus’ values are counter-cultural. • Jesus’ way restores the broken ways of this world.

  4. AN OVERVIEW OF OUR NEW SERIES, “PARADOX” • What is our twofold purpose in “PARADOX” series? • We seek to have a clear understanding of the paradoxical axioms of Jesus’ teachings. • In so doing, our aim is to apply and put them into daily practice as our way [= radical discipleship]. __________________________________________________________________________________________ • Here is a sneak preview of what’s coming up: • “To find your life you must lose it.” • ‘The way up is down.” • “The first will be last and the last will be first.” • “Meet your needs—don’t seek them first.”

  5. 24Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? Matthew 16:24-26

  6. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?: “SAVING YOUR LIFE” VS. “LOSING YOUR LIFE” 1) “Saving your life/self” means: For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (v.25) • To look for answers/solutions within ourselves. • To value our own external well-being and become obsessed with it. • To refuse anything that is on our way of seeking self-preservation or self-protection. • Ultimately, it means to save ourselves with our own power and wisdom.

  7. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?: “SAVING YOUR LIFE” VS. “LOSING YOUR LIFE” 2) “Losing your life/self”: For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (v.25) • It does NOT mean… • Losing one’s self-identity. • Self-rejection. • Self-condemnation/punishment. • Denying one’s passion, ambition, and vision that are godly, God-glorifying, and Christ-exalting. • Misunderstanding its meaning leads us to either a false spirituality or reluctance to embrace this paradoxical axiom of Jesus.

  8. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?: “SAVING YOUR LIFE” VS. “LOSING YOUR LIFE” 2) “Losing your life/self”: For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (v.25) • It means… • Self-denial [denying our stubborn self-centeredness]. • Losing the grip of self-absorption [“it’s NOT about me”]. • Taking up the cross [Choosing to die to “stiff-necked I”—the flesh/sarx]. • Following Christ [saying “no” to self & “yes” to Christ]. • Understanding its true meaning and benefit (being weighed with its cost) opens our eyes to this paradoxical axiom of Jesus.

  9. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Jim Elliot

  10. WHAT DOES IT REQUIRE US TO PUT THIS PARADOXICAL TRUTH INTO PRACTICE DAILY? 1) Losing my life/self requires OWNERSHIP-CHANGE of my life/self. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (v.25) • It begins with allegiance to Jesus Christ as our Lord as well as our Savior [= our Master and Teacher of the WAY]. • To relinquish our control and submit to Christ’s leading. • To claim our true self-identity in Christ alone. • This means that in everyday life we are to surrender our center to Christ.

  11. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21

  12. WHAT DOES IT REQUIRE US TO PUT THIS PARADOXICAL TRUTH INTO PRACTICE DAILY? • Losing my life/self requires VIGILANCE against my innate default mode—self-centeredness & self-absorption. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (v.25) • It begins with this realization: my default mode is self-centeredness and self-absorption. • If so, without vigilance we easily slip into the default mode, regardless of our awareness of this relapse. • To stand against this stubborn self-centeredness is an ongoing battle in a true follower of Christ. • This means that in everyday life we are to spiritual awake and stand firm against this spiritual battle.

  13. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around  like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that  the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 1 Peter 5:8-9

  14. WHAT DOES IT REQUIRE US TO PUT THIS PARADOXICAL TRUTH INTO PRACTICE DAILY? • Losing my life/self requires DYING TO SELF daily—choosing self-denial not self-improvement. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (v.25) • It involves our intentional act of will to die to self. • In so doing, the focus is not self-improvement but self-denial (exchanging Christ’s life with our dying to self). • Delaying this self-surrender will actually lead us to further pain, discord and problems. • This means that in everyday life we are to willingly surrender our self-will, self-glory, and self-obsession to Christ.

  15.  When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

  16. What Dying to Self Looks Like As we die to self, we no longer try to get our own way or try to get people to look up to us. We stop offering unasked-for advice, as if in self-importance we think we always know better than others. We let go of trying to make a good impression on others. We find freedom from the self-focused life Evelyn Underhill describes: “We mostly spend [our] lives conjugating three verbs: to want, to have and to do. Craving, clutching and fussing, we are kept in perpetual unrest.” Quite simply, when we die to self, we’re no longer obsessed with self. - Jan Johnson

  17. THREE PRACTICAL QUESTIONSFOR OUR EVERYDAY LIFE • In what area(s) have I been trying to “save” my life/self lately? • What must I change in order to embrace this paradoxical truth? 3. What is my first step toward putting “this way of Jesus” into practice daily?

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