Debrief

Debrief offers an abridged outline of the Sunday sermon for individuals or Community Groups alike, to re-engage the content of the Sunday sermon. This outline is far from complete, but serves to give a track or road map to walk through the content of Sunday in another context during the week.

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. – Mark 8:35

BIG IDEA: The happiest Christians on earth are the ones that are convinced there is nothing they can do to earn God’s Approval or Affection, but that Jesus has already earned it for them. The happiest Christians on earth are not the ones who are wise enough to lose everything so they can gain everything in Christ.

Confidence (noun): the belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something; an appreciation of one’s own abilities; self-assurance.

Losses

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (v:7-8)

Loss (zemia): (1) the fact or process of losing something; (2) feeling of grief after loss; (3) making less money than is spent (being put in debt)

• Losing Religious Family Heritage ……5 circumcised on the eighth day

Paul was brought up in a VERY religious family that followed the letter of the Law, without exception, down to the day your child was to be circumcised

Paul is saying that he has always been a Jew, one of God’s people. He never became part of the ‘church’ after the fact. He wasn’t like someone who had become a Christian later in life, but someone who was a ‘life’er’

Paul is saying that any religious family practice you’ve had is only good if it’s initiated by the Spirit of God, not by the spirit of old time family religion. Your religious family heritage can’t gain you God’s approval or affection.

• Losing Religious Nationalism ……5 of the people of Israel

Paul was brought up in a VERY patriotic family that believed that their status before God was given to them as a national birthright

Paul is saying that he has always been a Jew, one of God’s people, because he was born that way. This would be the same as someone thinking they were a Christian because they were born in America.

Paul is saying that what country you come from has no bearing on your relationship with God. Your nationality can’t gain you God’s approval or affection.

• Losing Religious Family Loyalty ……5 of the tribe of Benjamin

“You don’t know my family. I know the other families you’re talking about, but my family is the most loyal family I know to these things.”

Paul came from a family that was VERY loyal to these things for generations.

The Tribe of Benjamin (“Son of My Right Hand”)

Paul is saying that your loyalty to these things has no bearing on your relationship with God. Your loyalty to religious and national pride can’t gain you God’s approval or affection.

• Losing Christian Education ……5 a Hebrew of Hebrews

"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. – Acts 22:3

Paul was brought up in a VERY protective and proactive family that believed that their status before God was improved if they protected their kids from the bad culture around them and where proactive in providing for them the best religious education

Paul is saying that he went to the best Christian Prep Boarding School money could buy

Paul is saying that your Christian education has no bearing on your relationship with God. Your Christian education can’t gain you God’s approval or affection.

• Losing Legalism ……5 as to the law, a Pharisee

Paul was brought up in a VERY strict and legalistic setting that followed the letter of the Law, without exception, and added hundreds of man-made laws to make sure they followed the God-made laws as perfectly as possible

Paul is saying that he was the most committed Christian in town, never drank beer or wine, never went to a PG-13 movie, never wore jeans to church, never wore his hat in church, never missed a church meeting, never failed to keep any of his man-made rules

Paul is saying that following the rules as strictly as possible has no ultimate bearing on your relationship with God. Your legalistic efforts can’t gain you God’s approval or affection.

• Losing Zeal ……6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church

All of Paul’s family and religious heritage made him a VERY zealous person who took his zeal to the extreme

Paul is saying that he was the most vocal and visceral ‘Christian in the church’ so to speak………always speaking up and always acting out.

Paul is saying that speaking up and speaking out has no ultimate bearing on your relationship with God. Your zeal can’t gain you God’s approval or affection.

• Losing Self Righteousness ……6 as to righteousness under the law, blameless

All of Paul’s legalism and zeal made him a VERY righteous person, literally.

Paul is saying that he followed all the Jewish Laws perfectly, without exception…….maybe like the Rich Young Ruler

Paul is saying that keeping all the rules has no ultimate bearing on your relationship with God. Your zeal can’t gain you God’s approval or affection.

You can only gain anything when you have first lost everything.

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. – Mark 8:35

The only way you and I will ever gain Jesus is if we first lose all these things we tend to trust or put our confidence in more than Jesus.

Paul is NOT saying that any of these things are mutually exclusive from being a Christian, but that putting our ultimate hope, or trust, or confidence in any of these things is mutually exclusive from being a Christian

Diving In

Diving In offers a few questions to help you re-engage the concepts from Sunday. Feel the freedom to use all of the questions, or to simply camp out on just one. These questions aren't intended to answer all the issues that surface through the thrust of this weeks' message, but to simply raise them and allow you time and space to process them, ideally in the context of your Community Group.

• Is there any sense you have that you need to lose any of the things above in order to gain Christ? Have you been putting your hope, trust and confidence in any of the 'loses' listed above, in any way, to any degree? Explain.
• Maybe you sense you have not put your trust in any of the 'loses' above to save you, ultimately. But have you put your trust in some of the 'loses' above to sanctify you daily? Is there truth in the idea that you believe you have been saved by grace, but that you're sanctified by your works and effort?
• Which one of the 'loses' above is the hardest for you to lose? Why would you say that is?
• How do you sense Jesus is calling you to 'lose your life' for His sake and the sake of the Gospel? (Mk8:35)

Deep End

The Deep End is a short and simple formation exercise you can use to dive deep into your heart before God. Feel the freedom to divert from the directions if that makes it easier for you to connect with Jesus in this exercise.

• First, quiet your heart before the Lord. If you find yourself distracted by various thoughts (things on your “To Do” list, etc.), don’t “fight” the distractions, but rather spend some time praying over those things. Hopefully soon your heart will quieted down and you will be able to hear the Lord speaking to you.
• Next, spend some time reading and meditating over Mark 8:35 - "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it."
• Ask the Spirit to reveal to you any way you have been trying to 'save' your own life. Ask the Spirit to reveal to you anything in the list above, or outside the list above, that you've been relying on to save or sanctify yourself.
• Then, ask the Spirit to reveal to you any way, small or great, that Jesus is calling you to lose your life for His sake and the sake of the Gospel.
• Write all you sense the Spirit revealing to you down in your journal, etc. Commit these two sides of the issue to prayer daily this week, being open to what the Spirit continues to reveal to you.

My hope is that these simple exercises in The 60 will help what we discovered during this week be distilled, and deepened in your heart and life with Jesus.