I am Second

I am Second

September 18, 2011

Introduction

Who wants to be in second place? If you were to run for the President of the United States, and you came in second, how much good would it do you? If you were dating someone, and you came in second, how would you feel? If you were applying for a job, and you came in second, how would you feel? You are still without the job.

Coming in second does not seem to be the goal that we should aim for, but this morning we want to take a closer look at being second; especially, what does the Bible say about being second?

Body

I. Jesus said that we must be second.

He stated it as a cross.

(Mat 16:24-26 NKJV) Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. {25} "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. {26} "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

He insisted that He be above everyone else.

(Luke 14:25-27 NKJV) Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, {26} "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. {27} "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

1. He stated it in different ways.

(Luke 9:59-62 NKJV) Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." {60} Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." {61} And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." {62} But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

2. It was still the message of taking up the cross to follow Him.

He stated it as losing our lives for Him.

Mat 10:38-39 NKJV) "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. {39} "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

Paul stated “I am second,” as counting other better than ourselves.

(Phil 2:2-3 NKJV) fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. {3} Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

II. He wants us to count the cost.

Continuing with the passage we read earlier.

(Luke 14:27-33 NKJV) "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. {28} "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it; {29} "lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, {30} "saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' {31} "Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? {32} "Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. {33} "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

What are the costs that we will pay?

1. The cost of the ”Sabbath Day.”

(Exo 20:8-11 NKJV) "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. {9} Six days you shall labor and do all your work, {10} but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. {11} For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

2. No longer binding, but it sets a great principle.

a. “to keep it holy” – take time for God.

b. “In it you shall do no work” – It is a day of rest, or worship.

III. What will we get in return?

There is more to be gained now.

(Mat 19:29-30 NKJV) "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. {30} "But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

1. “Shall receive a hundredfold”

a. Better relationships with companions and children.

b. More honor in the daily activities of life.

c. We become part of God’s family here on earth.

2. “And inherit eternal life.”

(Rom 8:18 NKJV) For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

We must put God first in our lives.

(Mat 6:33-34 NKJV) "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. {34} "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

1. God will not accept second place.

(Deu 4:24-26 NKJV) "For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. {25} "When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and do evil in the sight of the LORD your God to provoke Him to anger, {26} "I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed.

2. No other Gods before Him.

(Exo 20:2-3 NKJV) "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. {3} "You shall have no other gods before Me.

Conclusion

Is Jesus the Lord of your life?

Is He number One?

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