Spiritual Profit Mark 8:34-38

1) We profit spiritually if we have the right desire- Mark 8:34 34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, & take up his cross, & follow Me.”

To benefit spiritually we need to be focused in the right direction To benefit spiritually we need to be focused in the right direction. Jesus’ word is desire…to desire Him, to focus on Him instead of ourselves or the world around us.

by going in the wrong direction I can’t arrive at my destination I can’t win a race by going in the wrong direction I can’t arrive at my destination by making a wrong turn I can’t receive God’s blessing by walking down the wrong path

Matt 6 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat Matt 6 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

Matt 6 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Is my life focused in the Do I have the right desire right direction? Do I have the right desire in my heart?

2) We profit spiritually if we invest in the right thing- Mark 8:35-37 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake & the gospel's will save it.

2) We profit spiritually if we invest in the right thing- Mark 8:35-37 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, & loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

The pursuit of our culture is “the whole world”, so they invest in what they believe will get them ahead, make them feel secure or happy. Yet even if they gain all the world has, in light of God and eternity, they have exchanged their soul for a world that is fading away.

Heb 11 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. NIV

Heb 11 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. NIV

I John 2 15 Do not love the world or anything in the world I John 2 15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes & the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world.

I John 2 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

“Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” Francis Chan

What am I investing my life in? What are the goals I am giving my time, effort & resources to?

3) We profit spiritually if we are courageous in the right place- Mark 8:38 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me & My words in this adulterous & sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

To grow spiritually we eventually must take a stand, draw a line in the sand where we choose not to please the world or seek to be pleased by the world, but to love & be loved by God first.

Joshua 24 14 "Now fear the LORD & serve him with all faithfulness Joshua 24 14 "Now fear the LORD & serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River & in Egypt, & serve the LORD. NIV

Joshua 24 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, … NIV

Joshua 24 15 …whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me & my household, we will serve the LORD." NIV

Am I taking my stand in the right place in my life?

Spiritual Profit Mark 8:34-38