What Am I Pursuing?

Are we caught up in our own religion like the Pharisees and Sadducees or are we truly pursuing Jesus? And what does it actually look like to pursue Jesus?

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to share the sermon at my Church, The Anchor Fellowship. It was such a meaningful experience and I'm so thankful to my church community for walking alongside me as I prepared to speak.

Listen to the sermon here!

Check out my similar post: Empathy Over Ego

Details from the Message

The Scripture

The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, “Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.

And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. And He was giving orders to them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, *said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, 19 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They *said to Him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they *said to Him, “Seven.” And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Mark 8:11-21 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Overview: What am I pursuing? My Religion or Jesus?

As I was preparing this talk and considering the scripture there was one major themes that popped up. Everyone around Jesus kept missing Him. The Pharisees, Sadducees and even the Disciples were interacting with Jesus and completely not understanding Him or not even realizing it was Him. They were so caught up in pursuing their own line of thinking or their own religion that they did not recognize their Savior when He was in front of their face.

I don’t want to be like the Pharisees or Sadducees and sit in the presence of Jesus and not even know it’s Him…. I don’t want to miss seeing Jesus.

So I'd love for us all to consider a few questions together...

• In what ways am I looking towards society, Christian rules or my own thought instead of looking to the heart of Jesus?
• Where have I forgotten, discounted or grown numb to God’s goodness in my life?
• What am I actually pursuing and what does it really mean to pursue Jesus?

I'd love to hear your thoughts below? Do you think we can miss seeing Jesus when we're blocked by our own thoughts?

With love,