Real Discipleship - Taste and See, Part 2

I want you to imagine with me for just one moment what it would be like if Jesus showed up tonight at 1 a.m. in your bedroom in his resurrected body, light flowing out of him. How would you respond?

What would you think? How would that change how you live your life? Well, that's today. You don't want to miss it. Thanks for joining us for this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. I'm Dave Drewy, and Chip's our Bible teacher for this international discipleship ministry focused on helping Christians live like Christians. Well, in this program, Chip will pick up where he left off last time in his message, Taste and See, which is from his series, Real Discipleship.

A quick listener note, Chip taught this series several years ago, so this program's going to sound a little different. As we begin, Chip reminds us of the high cost and high reward of following Jesus. Turn in your Bibles to Mark Chapter 9. The pathway to power is only through the door of the cross. It's what he wants them to learn.

It's the theme of this section. The kingdom will only come in power when it goes through the cross. Now, don't get that negative idea of what the cross is. Oh, the cross is, you know, I got to hurt here. The cross is the will of God. You and I and the disciples will only experience kingdom power like dynamite when we sign that blank check and say, your will instead of mine. For Jesus, it meant death.

At times, it will mean suffering and rejection for us, but it also means power. And so, the disciples now, their focus has totally changed. And if that wasn't enough, you talk about confirmation.

You know, sometimes we ask God, oh God, give me a sign. These guys are the three men that the way to the church is going to follow on later. John is going to write books and end up giving us revelation at a ripe old age.

Peter is going to be the man who gets things going and then Paul takes it to the Gentiles. He wanted to convince them, men, you are in on the most fabulous opportunity that few human beings ever get ever, and I want you to see who I really am. And that's his message to us today. And so, this cloud, just like the Shekinah glory comes down and they actually hear the voice of God tell them, this is right. This is Jesus. Listen to him. He's my son.

Follow him regardless of the cause. You get the affirmation? Now like us, they have a few questions. And so, after this experience, they're walking down the hill. They kept the matters to themselves, discussing what rising from the dead meant. Jesus, as they were walking down the hill, gave them orders that until they see the Son of Man rise from the dead, they should not tell this to anyone. And they still can't figure out what all this resurrection terminology is about. Verse 11, they ask him, why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first? Now see, they're convinced he's the Messiah.

Peter knew it before this experience. But now they've heard from Moses, Elijah and the voice of God. But they've got a couple of nagging theological questions, like you and I have sometimes. You know, sometimes God makes his will clear and you know what to do. But you've always been taught a couple things and they don't quite jive with what exactly you think God's will is.

And you need it cleared up. And so, this is what Jesus does. During that day, they had a lot of big, I would say, extra biblical ideas about Elijah and what he would do and when he came and what it would look like. So, Jesus clears them up. Verse 12, Jesus replied, to be sure Elijah comes first and restores all things. That's true.

Those teachers of the law, they're correct. And then he adds a question, gets back to the heart of the issue. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? But I tell you, Elijah has come and they have done to him everything they wished just as it is written about him.

Let's do a quick review. Group of men have been challenged to the core of their being for about six days. They saw the king in his glory and power. They saw his deity. They heard from the founders of the faith to affirm and confirm that Jesus was the Messiah. They heard his methodology about the cross was confirmed by who? The law, the prophets, and the Father. They had their theological questions answered about Elijah and John the Baptist. And they saw and they heard God.

Now, I don't know about you, but that'd be a pretty, you know, one of those experiences you want to mark up and write down in your journal and read it every day. Question I have is why is this here? Every gospel, this transfiguration follows the great confession.

Why? I think the answer is real simple. The great confession calls the side of the coin of great demand, great sacrifice, follow Christ no matter what. And I think the Lord knows our humanness and knows that we struggle and knows that we need to also be able to focus on who in the world are we following and is it worth it?

Is it worth it? And the answer is yes. I mean, can you imagine these guys, if you can't trust him, who can you trust now? Now, what I'd like to say is that this isn't reserved for them. This mount of transfiguration experience is what? They saw God for who he really was and what he was going to do. And you and I have the Spirit of God living in our life. We've got the Word of God available. We have the fellowship of other believers.

And God can allow us to see him for who he is today and also begin to see that his will isn't some dark, terrible, scary, oh no, I don't want to do that because, but it's the greatest opportunity in the world. See, a lot of you like me, I mean, I was the black sheep of every Bible study I was in for the first three years I was a Christian. If you were supposed to memorize scripture, I wouldn't do it. If you were supposed to go to this meeting, I didn't go. Or, you know, I was always in and out and you know why? I had such a faulty view of God. I was convinced if I got committed to Christ, I'd end up in Africa. I'm serious. So, you know, I don't want to get too close to this guy. You know, I want to go to heaven, but that's about it. And then, you know, then when I was single, some of you are this way, if you think you're single and you get really committed to Christ, you'll never get married.

And that's what I thought. So I don't want to get too close then either. And some of us, you know, we get married and we start our career, well, I don't want to get committed to Christ.

You know, by any means, I'll never have anything. You know, committed Christians are poor. See, what God wants us to learn is His will is good and acceptable and perfect and that we can trust Him. Let me give you one verse and I want you to write this down because this is the message He wants. Psalm 84-11, it says, The Lord God, it's a strong combination of two names for God. The Lord God is a sun and a shield. What's the sun? A source of power and a shield, a source of protection. The Lord authority, sovereign one, gives grace.

What's that? Unmerited favor, blessing, encouragement and glory, enhancement of one's reputation in life. The Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord gives grace and glory.

And here's the killer. No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. You'll never get a raw deal going for broke with Christ. You'll never miss.

The only way your life won't turn out best is when you arrogantly, like I have done in my life, think that you can follow your agenda and it will make you more happy and more fulfilled than sacrificially following His agenda. Now, is there a cost? Sure. Is there a balance?

Absolutely. But you know, I'm convinced that in our day we are so focused on, I got to give this up. This will never work out. And on the front end, what I've learned, you let go and it's real painful and hard. And my experience is God in six weeks doesn't make everything wonderful. He usually takes me through a period of weaning and learning and trusting. And I look back over a year, two, three, four years and realize that's the greatest decision I ever made in my life.

But it sure was hard for me here. Now, that's what He wants us to hear. I want you to understand that God wants you to know His will for you individually is good and it will require sacrifice and faith. This was a sneak preview to shape their thinking about the goodness and the power available to them. But then He's quick to take them down the mountain and let them learn you're still in a fallen world. Verse 14, when they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. So you got a scene, the nine are down here, the three have been up on the mountaintop, had this incredible experience. And as they come down the mountain, here's the religious leaders and here's the disciples and they have a royal rhubarb going at it. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and they ran to greet Him.

So He's still popular. Jesus takes control. Verse 16, what are you arguing with them about?

He asked. It's almost like a father and you know, your kids, those of you that have children, they're arguing, oh, wait, wait, wait, so what's going on here? And I've found there's usually a pregnant pause as both kids go, you know, who's going to tell your side of the story first? And that's what happens here. He comes, what's going on here?

It's a big argument. And the Pharisees and the scribes, they don't want to take Him on and the disciples, they don't know what to say. And so the only logical person steps up. The whole issue is about a father who's brought his son who's an epileptic and demon-possessed. And so he tells his story.

And here's his story. A man in the crowd answered, teacher, I brought you my son who's possessed by his spirit and he's been robbed of his speech. Whenever he seizes him, it throws him to the ground, he foams at the mouth, he gnashes his teeth and he becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive him out, but they couldn't do it. We had a problem. While you guys were up on the mountain, your disciples have failed in the ministry. We got a desperate, disappointed father and a demon-possessed boy and the religious leaders are licking their chops going, oh boy, I'm glad he's gone.

We've nailed him on this one. They couldn't cast it out. Of course, you notice they didn't cast it out either.

But this is the time to nail him. Now notice, listen for the words as I read this last paragraph or two, believe, trust, unbelief. This theme of the power only comes by way of the cross. And this whole issue of trusting God with your future, accepting his agenda, believing his word. See if you don't pick up Jesus' major theme in this entire passage. Verse 19, all unbelieving generation. The word is faith with an A on the front. All no faith generation, disciples, scribes, crowd, father.

These are the most exasperating words I find in scripture. How long shall I stay with you? What's it going to take? I heal people. I answer prayers. I walk on water. I calm storms.

I do miracles. What's it going to take for you people to believe when I say this, you can trust me. How long shall I put up with you?

He's at the end of his rope. I mean, we're two and a half years into this discipleship process. In six months, he's going to hand the reins over to these guys.

And they're still, you know, like rounding first, almost. They haven't learned that it's not your outward stuff. They haven't learned yet. It's a matter of the heart.

And when Jesus says it, you can take it to the bank and you can trust your future and your finances and your relationships and your life on what he says. That's what he's trying to get across. So now he's going to instruct, bring the boy to me. So they brought him and when the spirit saw Jesus immediately, he threw the boy into convulsions. He fell to the ground. He rolled around and he foamed at the mouth. Jesus asked the father like a good physician, how long has he been like this?

A little diagnostic question. From childhood, he answered, it's often thrown him into the fire or water to kill him. You see, you have now these men who've been on the mountaintop. They've seen who God is. They're moving forward and what they're realizing is they are called to minister in a fallen world where Satan is on the throne. And we have a graphic picture where Satan has this boy tied in knots and he's blind.

And his life is a mess and he's hurting. And Jesus' plan was that the disciples would trust him and believe him and make a difference in that fallen world, but because of their lack of faith, they can't. The father goes on to say, but if you can do anything, take pity on him and help us.

If you can do anything. See, this father heard about Jesus. He heard about the miracles. He heard the stories.

He thought, hey, this guy can do it. And these disciples aren't, you know, they're not lightweights. Three or four weeks ago, remember when they were sent out, they cast out demons. They healed people.

They're not doing so good now. Jesus responds, verse 23. This is emphatic. He says, if you can.

Are you joking? If? Now you've got to remember there's Peter, James and John over here looking like this saying, if?

You should hear what Elijah and Moses think. We've heard the voice. We know who he is. He's God. What do you mean, if he can?

And then he isolates the issue. Everything is possible for him who believes, who trusts. Everything's possible. He can heal a marriage. He can fix your finances. He can turn a wayward child's heart. Everything's possible for the one who believes, for the one who's willing to say no to his agenda and yes to God's agenda, sign the blank check, put the chips of your life in the middle of the table and say, you call the shots and I'll follow, no matter what. And it may not turn out great initially, but I'll trust you.

Immediately, the boy's father exclaims and I love this. This is how weak your faith can be and get a response from God. He says, I do believe, sort of. Really, that's kind of helped me in my unbelief. I want to trust you. I came because I trusted you.

So far, it hasn't worked. Your disciples aren't as good as you. There's a lot of people out there who've met with you or me and tried to find God and because we weren't walking in dependency, they said, Christianity doesn't seem to work.

You didn't help me. When Jesus saw the crowd running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. You deaf and dumb spirit, he said, I command you to come out of him and never enter him again. And the spirit shrieked and convulsed him violently and came out and the boy looks so much like a corpse that many said he's dead. But Jesus took him by the hand and he lifted him to his feet and he stood up. And then afterwards, Jesus had gone indoors. The scene's over.

It's the third scene. We've been on the mountaintop. We've been in the valley.

Now we're indoors. And his disciples ask him privately. This is a great question.

This is a perceptive question. Why couldn't we drive him out? What went wrong? What's the problem? I don't understand it. Two weeks ago, you sent us out. We did it where we talked and they fled.

What's the deal? He replied, this kind, genos, this particular type of demon only comes out by prayer. Mark is giving a kind of veiled view of the real issue here. Matthew says it right out. He says, the problem is your unbelief.

And Luke confirms it. See, the problem is, guys, you were running hot and you were with me and you saw the power and you did it and I left for a while and you somehow thought that there's an autopilot and you could just go on on your own. But a faith that is dynamic and vital has to be nurtured. Their problem wasn't lack of activity. Their problem was lack of intimacy with the Father.

And so the theme comes back again. It was their unbelief. They weren't trusting him.

And so Mark gives us the greatest evidence of our lack of trust. It's prayerlessness. We say, oh, I don't have time. I get time to eat breakfast. I get time to work. I get time, but I don't have time to pray.

Time's not the issue. You know what the real issue in my life is? And you can put the shoe on if it fits. The issue is for me to get alone with God for protracted times and be absolutely honest and re-sign that blank check and tell him I'll do whatever you want me to do is scary, threatening, and makes me uncomfortable.

And I would rather just keep the good, big moral areas of my life clean, fake it on the small ones, read the Bible a little bit, pray a few quick prayers, and go about my way and have everyone think I'm doing it and we're all in this together. You know the only problem with that? There's no power. There's no power in that at all. Power comes when I get to a level of uncomfortability when I say, God, I don't know what you're going to do with my life. I don't know what you're going to do with my future or my family or my life or my finances, but I've read your Word and I'm obeying you by faith.

You do what you want to do, and I'm scared to death. Help me. Those kind of people come to God in desperation, and those kind of people see supernatural kingdom power because it always flows through the door of the cross. It's where the power is. It's not in our mechanics. It's not in our Bible reading. It's not in coming to church.

Good things. The pathway to power through the door of the cross, it's faith. And faith is what? Trusting that God's will is good for me. Trusting that, hey, this isn't a raw deal. This isn't bad.

This is great. I get to be a part of the team, of the one who's in glory. And He wants me to have that power and that experience. How do you tend to view Christ's call to absolute allegiance to Him? Is the glass half empty? Do you focus on all the sacrifice you think you have to make?

Or is the glass half full? The privilege, the power, the future. Is your focus on what He promises, or on what you perceive must be given up? You know, you'll begin to walk by faith, and I'll begin to walk by faith, when at the very personal level I realize what God really wants from my life is not my performance.

He wants my belief. This is the work of God that we believe on Him who sent, and we just trust. It's a scary, vulnerable position unless the God of eternity, who's all powerful, holds you in His hand. You see, the Lord God's a sun and shield. The Lord God gives grace and glory. No good thing will He withhold from those people like you who walk upright and who want to do His will.

It's the greatest deal you'll ever get. Before we go any farther, what you heard was the offer of eternal life. Jesus wants you to know that He came for you. He lived a perfect life for you. He died in your place to pay for your sins for you. He rose from the dead and is at this moment the right hand of the Father. And here's His invitation.

Come to Me. Put your trust in Me. And if you have never placed your faith in Jesus Christ, today is your day. The Bible's absolutely clear.

As many as receive Him, Jesus, to them He gives the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. The promise of Scripture is called to Me and I will answer you. I'll tell you great mighty things and that all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. And so if you desire to have a personal relationship with God through Christ, know that your sins are forgiven, have His Spirit enter your life, that you might be born again. I want you to stop right now whatever you're doing.

If you have to pull off the road somewhere, pull off the road. But I want you to pray with me. And it's not saying the words that will be from your heart to your God.

And I want you to say to Him, Dear Father, I need You. I have sinned. I've done things wrong.

I know I'm not perfect. And You are a holy God. But today I believe Jesus died in my place. I believe He paid for my sin.

I believe He rose from the dead to prove that it's true. And I'm asking You, Lord Jesus, come into my life right now. Forgive me. Make me Your son. Make me Your daughter. And now help me to walk with You all the days of my life. If you have prayed that with the full intent of your heart, I want you to text or call the greatest Christian that you know.

Then I want you to go to LivingOnTheEdge.org. And we have a very clear place there where we have some information absolutely free to help you understand your new relationship with the Lord. And then let me encourage you to find a good Bible teaching church this weekend and go.

And welcome to the family. We're thrilled that you're now a brother or sister in Christ. If you prayed with Chip, we'd love to put a resource in your hands.

It's called Starting Out Right, and it's absolutely free. This tool will help you gain a clear biblical understanding of what it means to put your faith in Jesus. And that's our whole mission here at Living on the Edge, helping Christians really live like Christians. So let us help you get started in your faith journey. You can request this resource by calling us at 888-333-6003 or by visiting LivingOnTheEdge.org, then clicking on the New Believers button.

That's LivingOnTheEdge.org or call 888-333-6003. Well Chip's still with me here in studio. And Chip, we've gotten a lot of response from a newer resource we've developed here at Living on the Edge called Daily Discipleship with Chip. Now tell us how this tool came about and maybe share where your heart for discipling others came from. I'd be glad to, Dave.

I say this a lot, but I'll keep saying it a lot. A bricklayer named Dave Marshall met with me individually, and he taught me how to study the Bible. He taught me how to hear God's voice. He taught me how to pray. And so during the pandemic, we just literally tried an experiment.

I said, I will meet with people one-on-one. And I set up a couple cameras and literally just got a cup of coffee and opened my Bible and walked people through passages of Scripture, not so much just to teach them what it says, but way more about how to study the Bible for themselves. And so we started with one that was really applicable, kind of overcoming difficult circumstances. It's called growing deeper with God. And I went through the first couple chapters of Philippians and helped people understand our circumstances can't define us. And then we went to the book of Ephesians and we talked about, yes, you can really change. And we walked verse by verse through Ephesians chapter four, learning what it says and how to study it. And then we went back to Ephesians one, two, and three in a series called Discovering Your True Self. And we just, I mean, literally paragraph by paragraph slowly went through learning our identity in Christ. And then we went through Romans chapter 12, which everyone knows is a big favorite of mine about what true spirituality is and what it means to be a disciple.

And our latest series was in the book of James as we understood the art of survival. And whatever study you pick, I think you'll really grow from it. Let me encourage you to check them out, choose one, and then join me one on one and let me mentor you the way Dave Marshall mentored me. Here's how it works. For each series, I begin with a short teaching video, no longer the 10 minutes. And then there's a little assignment that I'm going to ask you to take 10 minutes on your own and do some study.

And here's what I know. People that have done this with me, who make it a habit just to spend 20 minutes with me day after day for somewhere between 10 days to a couple of weeks, they learn to hear God's voice. They learn to discern the Spirit. God begins to change them from the inside out.

This is a habit that you cannot afford not to develop. Thanks Chip. Well, if you're looking for a practical way to deepen your faith, let me encourage you to sign up for daily discipleship with Chip. This free video resource will really help you learn more about God and His Word. To sign up for any of our daily discipleship sessions, just go to livingontheedge.org.

Tap listeners, just tap discipleship. Just before we close, I'm going to thank those of you who make this program possible through your generous financial support. If you found this program helpful, but haven't partnered with us, there's never been a better time than right now. When you give a gift to Living on the Edge from now till July 7th, it'll be matched dollar for dollar, and making a donation is easy. Just go to livingontheedge.org or call us at 888-333-6003. That's 888-333-6003 or livingontheedge.org. Tap listeners, tap donate. For Chip and everyone here, thank you in advance for your generosity. Well, until next time, this is Dave Druey saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge.