This message is about about not being ashamed of Jesus as our Lord or His blessed gospel, which is the only way people can die to self/lose their life in order to save their soul/gain eternal life. Mark 8:38 says, "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Pastor Chad opens the sermon by calling attention of how Christians are increasingly silent and not standing up to evil and the moral slide in our country. The Christian band Newsboys has a song called "Not Ashamed" that urges us not to be ashamed (I'm not ashamed to let you know, I want this light in me to show, I'm not ashamed to speak the name of Jesus Christ. What are we sneaking around for? Who are we trying to please? Shrugging off sin, apologizing like we're spreading some kind of disease, I'm saying, no way, No way!). The main points of the sermon are: 1. Not ashamed of Jesus as our Lord (Matthew 16:24). 2. Not ashamed to die if necessary for Jesus (Matthew 16:25). 3. Not ashamed to preach a “costly gospel” that calls people to repent/surrender all to Christ as Lord (Matthew 16:26). 4. Not ashamed to preach that God will judge and reward justly (Matthew 16:27). 5. Not ashamed to proclaim that Jesus is coming back to establish His Millennial Kingdom on earth (Matthew 16:28). Chad also looks at the added insights from the Gospel of Mark: (Mark 8:34) The costly requirements to follow Christ (deny self, pick up cross, follow Christ) apply to EVERYONE not just the 12 disciples (Jesus called the whole crowd and said if “anyone desires to follow me (akoloutheito), he must…). (Mark 8:35) The word for “lose” (apolesei) your soul is a strong Greek word meaning “to utterly destroy” and has Hellish implications/eternal separation from God. (Mark 8:35) Mark includes that we must die/lose our life on account of Christ AND THE GOSPEL (euangelion). (Mark 8:36) Mark uses the word “suffer loss” (zamiothenai) implying complete emptying out/robbery/zero value/wisdom to live for self for 80 years only to go Hell for eternity???). (Mark 8:37) An important thought/word of “exchange” is used (antallagma) which shows there is no price/commodity other than the life of the Son of God that can free our soul from God’s just wrath against all our many sins. (Mark 8:38) The key word “ashamed” (epaischynthe) with a correlation that if we are ashamed of our Lord/Christ before men, He will be ashamed of us/reject us when He comes and establishes His Kingdom (why we practice public confession of Jesus as Lord - Romans 10:9-13). Also, we see that Mark says that Jesus will come in His Father’s glory, with the angels, and WITH the saints/holy ones (us/true believers – evidence for rapture). The sermon ends with a review of most of the other occurrences calling Christians NOT TO BE ASHAMED (Luke 9;26, Romans 1:16-17, 2 Timothy 1:7-18, 2 Timothy 2:8-15, Hebrews 2:7-15,10:23-39, 11:13-16, 1 Peter 4:12-19)! May we faithfully live out Hebrews 10:35-39: "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."

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