Faithbase

Hey friends, this is it. We're at the end of our series and we're gonna end it the way that we started it, talking about the good news, because this is what Mark is talking all about. Remember, he starts his whole book talking about who Jesus is. This is the good news about Jesus. He's the Messiah, the Son of God, and Jesus talks about himself and explains what the good news is about himself. He says, the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give up his life as a ransom for many. These were the confessions we looked at and Jesus explained it over and over to the disciples. I came so that my life would be given up and I would rise again in three days. This is the embodiment of who Jesus is, his life, his ministry, and his purpose on earth. This is the good news, that we can choose a different way of life. We can choose to follow Jesus. First, we have to be willing to see Jesus for who he is, not who we want him to be, not in the image or kind of God that we want to serve, but who God says he is and who Jesus says he is because Jesus says he's the Son of God and he is sitting at the right hand of the Father. Second, we need to humble ourselves. We need to serve the least of these, the innocent, the outcast, the poor, the marginalized, the sick. This is who Jesus is inviting us to give our lives to serve. And third, we need to submit ourselves to following him and to living his way and to leading his way. This means being the slave of all, being a servant, the heart of someone who comes to serve, not to be served, just like Jesus. Dallas Willard, a theological giant, I encourage you to read any of his books, has this incredible quote. He says, grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude, effort is an action. I want to say that again and I'll put it in the notes below. Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude, effort is an action. This is gonna take some work, friends. We cannot do this on our own. That's why we need Jesus and this is the good news is that we can't do it. Jesus did it for us and the Holy Spirit empowers us to do this. We'll get to all of that at some point. We'll be starting up a new series next week. In the meantime, I want to share a song with you as we're talking about the good news. This song, actually the radio edit just came out yesterday from Maverick City called Good News. I loved the extended version. Listen to the whole thing. I'm just going to play a clip, but I hope you guys are doing well. Appreciate you and hope you're blessed. Peace. Oh yeah, oh yeah. Everybody clap your hands, y'all. Oh yeah, yeah. You're a silver line. Something to hold on to and hope's been hidden. I know a place you can go if you want to find it. This is the good news. If you're breathing, it's for you. An empty grave, a life that's changed, it all points to Jesus' name. If you've been searching and nothing's been working, I've got good news. Jesus loves you.