It doesn’t have to be wicked, sinful things that take you out. It may be good things gone wrong, or necessary things elevated to the first place in your heart, that keep you from spiritual maturity. A spiritual inventory is often needed to audit our heart priorities. Are yours in the proper place and perspective?

The Lord alone satisfies the longing heart. Oh, if it were only that easy. We were created with longings and so much of life is avoiding sinful longings and fighting the disappointment we find in the lesser longings that never truly satisfy. We need to constantly rehearse the source of all true satisfaction, both in the fallen world today and the perfect one yet to come. May our hearts find their ultimate satisfaction in Christ the Redeemer!

Jesus has been teaching the disciples and the crowd, revealing who He is to them, yet they have not had spiritual eyes to see. Now, on the verge of entering Jerusalem, days away from the cross, His healing of blind Bartimaeus clearly demonstrates the heart of true discipleship. We are forced to consider the character of all true disciples who clearly see and understand what it means to follow Jesus.

Asking for the right thing makes all the difference in personal discipleship, church unity, and Kingdom impact. Pride and selfishness ask for others to do what we want them to do, while denying yourself kind of living asks how we can serve each other. Jesus, the greatest man to ever live, was also the greatest servant of all time. In fact, the whole reason He left heaven and came to our dirty planet was not to be served, but to serve … and give His life so that we might live!

Worldly riches promise satisfaction but can become a major obstacle to denying oneself and following after Jesus. Jesus turns to the disciples after his interaction with the rich young man and highlights the joys of salvation that come only by denying idols in our lives and living wholly dependent on Himself.

Obstacles to radical discipleship abound. Jesus is ruthlessly committed to exposing them to eliminate them, for His disciples then and for us now. From a radical eliminating of sin (9:43-48), to now the exhortation to pursue treasure in heaven over riches on earth. It’s certainly not about money being bad, but it is about those idols of the heart that occupy your affections and rob God of your unadulterated love for Him. He wants you to see that it’s far greater to belong to the King in His kingdom than to jealousy guard your belongings.

As the crowds clamored for selfish gain, the Pharisees sought to trap Jesus to discredit His power and influence. Emerging from the private ministry of discipling His disciples, Jesus immediately faced a question from the Pharisees. A question not asked to learn but asked to test. The Pharisees want to talk divorce, but Jesus wants to talk marriage, applying the principles of “deny yourself” to avoiding divorce and doing marriage as God intended from the beginning. Let’s think through this tricky issue, in our day as in every day, well to the glory of God.

Don’t for a minute think walking as a humble servant is easy, comfortable, or for the weak. To be great in the Kingdom is to be the servant of all, and being a servant is not for the faint-of-heart. Faithful followership of Jesus is about a radical obedience that serves others and battles sin with an unwavering commitment to the King.

Someone famously said, “Everyone wants to be a servant until you are treated like one.” I’ve certainly found that to be true in my own life. I want to selflessly, sacrificially serve people, and yet my pride rises when I feel slighted or go un-thanked. We, like the disciples, need yet another lesson in discipleship. Following Jesus means following the way of the Servant. Denying ourselves means giving our lives away without looking to gain anything. This is the way of the servant.

We have reached a pivotal point in the gospel of Mark. The disciples have been used to walking by sight. Jesus has been right there: teaching them, encouraging them, rebuking them, performing miracles right in front of them. But, now Jesus is heading to Jerusalem and his impending death, resurrection, and ascension. Soon the King will be gone, and he must prepare his disciples to walk in powerful faith as they will lead the expansion of the kingdom through the birth of the church.