Mark 9 Lesson

STUMBLING BLOCKS

There are certain things in life that tempt us to sin. 

The Bible teaches us to be aware of what these things are, to avoid them, and whenever possible, to remove them from our lives.

In Mark Chapter 9, Jesus makes the following three statements:

1. “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell.” – Mark 9:43,
2. “If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell.” – Mark 9:45,
3. “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell.” – Mark 9:47.

In these three statements, Jesus makes it clear that we are to remove the things in our lives that cause us to stumble.        

EXAMPLES OF STUMBLING BLOCKS

Stumbling blocks are the things in our lives that cause us to sin or tempt us to sin. 

For some, this stumbling block could be alcohol. 

Others may have a problem with pornography.  Others may be consumed with the love of money.   

Satan understands our weaknesses and will do his best to exploit them. Peter wrote about this in his first epistle:

• “Be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” - 1 Peter 5:8.

The message of the Bible is clear, whatever is causing us to stumble needs to be removed from our lives so we can be right with God. 

It is not worth forfeiting our eternal souls to chase a temporary desire.

• “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? “ -(Mark 8:36).

REMOVING STUMBLING BLOCKS FROM OUR LIVES

Successfully removing the stumbling blocks from our lives requires an honest assessment of what those stumbling blocks are. 

We need to recognize the behaviors and situations that put us at risk and then be strong enough to eliminate them.  

To do that, we need to change our mindset, as the Apostle Paul wrote about in his letter to the Colossians.

• “Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.” – Colossians 3:2.

REPLACING “BAD THINGS” WITH “GOOD THINGS”

Once we remove the stumbling blocks from our lives, we need to replace them with activities thatglorify Godandserve others.

That is what we were created to do!

When we successfully remove stumbling blocks from our lives, we will have more time to do things that are pleasing to God:

1. Glorifying God,
2. Serving others.

And the more we do these two things, the more we begin to experience the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7) 

When we take something that was a problem in our lives and replace it with something that God wants us to be doing, we will be blessed!

Not materially blessed, we will be blessed spiritually.

And that is far more important!

GETTING STARTED

If we are honest, there are likely multiple stumbling blocks that need to be removed from our lives at any given time. 

So where to start? 

A good idea is to pick one stumbling block that we want to remove from our lives.  Ideally, it would be the most destructive one. 

Once we have selected the stumbling block that we want to remove from our lives, there are six things that we can do to help us be successful:

1. Write it down.  Writing down our goals adds accountability and forces us to clearly identify what those goals are.
2. Tell someone. Telling someone about our goal adds even more accountability and increases our chances of being successful.
3. Break the goal down.  We do not have to accomplish our goals all at once.  Breaking big goals into several smaller goals increases our chances of being successful.
4. Plan the first step.  “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – a Chinese proverb. Sometimes, having the courage to take that first step towards our goal is half the battle.
5. Keep going!  Satan will try to stop our efforts.  If we are to succeed at our goal, we must persevere and keep our eye on the prize!
6. Pray!  This is the most important thing that we can do to remove stumbling blocks from our lives! With God’s help, anything is possible. (Mathew 19:26) We need to pray early and often if we are going to be successful!

CONCLUSION

God has a plan for each of us. (Jeremiah 29:11).

However,God’s plan for us will not work unless we follow it! 

Part of God’s plan for us is to identify and remove the stumbling blocks that cause us to sin. 

In Mark’s Gospel, he records three powerful statements that were made by Jesus. These statements highlight the importance of permanently removing the stumbling blocks in our lives that cause us to sin.

1. “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell.” – Mark 9:43,
2. “If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell.” – Mark 9:45,
3. “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell.” – Mark 9:47.

We will end today’s lesson with the following scripture that reminds us of the positive things that God wants us to keep at the forefront of our minds:

• “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” - Philippians 4:8.