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, how to avoid them, and whenever possible, to remove them from our lives.

In Mark Chapter 7, Jesus makes three powerful 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 hel l.” – 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 dramatic examples, 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. Or like many, we may be consumed by the love of money.

Satan is a powerful adversary that we cannot take lightly:

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

He knows our weaknesses and will do his best to exploit them.   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 satisfy 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 develop a plan.  This will require a change in mindset, as Paul discussed 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”

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.

Instead of focusing on ourselves, we will find ourselves focusing on others, thinking about positive things, and being more at peace. 

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! Taking that one step further, if we replace the time that we spent trying to please ourselves, and invest it in learning about God, or helping our neighbor, we are really going to develop spiritually!

GETTING STARTED

If we are honest, there are 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.

Our goal is to eliminate that one stumbling block from our lives, and there are six things that we can do to help us succeed in that goal:

1. Write it down.  Writing down our goals adds accountability and forces us to clearly identify what our 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.
5. Keep going!  Satan will no doubt try to stop our efforts.  We must persevere and keep our eye on the prize!
6. Pray!  With God’s help, anything is possible.  Be sure to pray early and often!

CONCLUSION

God has a plan for each of us:

• “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” - Jeremiah 29:11.

However,God’s plan cannot work unless we follow it!

Part of God’s plan for us is to identify and remove the stumbling blocks that tempt us to sin. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus made three powerful statements about the importance of permanently removing these things from our lives:

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 hel l.” – 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.  It reminds us of the types of things that God wants us to focus on:

• “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.