Part 17 // Defining True Discipleship // Mike Bickle, Studies in the Life of Christ

okay turn to mark chapter 7 mark chapter 7 father we come before you Lord we love your presence we love your word we love the way you presented your son in the holy book and Holy Spirit we ask you again to reveal the beauty of this man that our hearts would wonder at him be filled with Wonder at his goodness and his glory we thank you in Jesus name Amen well tonight we're going to just kind of do a brief overview of mark chapter seven eight and nine those that's the primary chapter and there are parallel passages in Matthew 15 16 and 17 it's the same stories a few different details the reason I'm using mark the last number of weeks because mark is a more precise chronology I mean the vents are in chronological order and Matthew is arranged more thematically and so Matthew chapter 5 6 or 7 may happen later on not necessary at the beginning of the of the Gospels well paragraph a in these passages Jesus is presenting the nature of true discipleship a few things to keep your eye on we're not going to read through all this but that's just so you can get a feel for the passage later thing to keep your eye on is that he's gonna point out the common statement that it's made that Christianity is a relationship not a religion meaning true discipleship is about heartfelt caught even costly responses to express love it's not religious rituals it's not externalism it's a hard exchange with a real person that's the first thing that's going to be highlighted secondly through these three chapters the issue of faith this is really important to Jesus the church loses sight of this he really wants us to see his works and to grow an expectation of his intervention in her life matter of fact one of the main things he says over and over in the Gospel of Mark is that because of the lack of faith I wouldn't do things because you didn't really expect and the expectation is not just out of you know random its expectation based on the on what he has shown you right before your own eyes his leadership his goodness in your life or in creation or in the word and he says I want you to respond with expectation not with apathy or cynicism and then the third thing to keep your eye on that has brought up a number of times in these three chapters is the fact of all people are accepted by God that God wants all of his people to accept all of his people and we think well of course but there was a radical I mean there was a element of racism in Judaism and gods radically against that and that racism must be not expressed religiously politically socially and in these three chapters he's going to make that point over and over and it's the issue of the Gentiles he's saying human beings that want relationship with me everyone must accept everyone in my family and they must value them and not relegate them to a second place status or any kind of dishonor at all and so a heartfelt relationship response faith that has high expectation and a view of others that has full acceptance of everyone in God's family with full honor those are three of the major themes in terms of defining true discipleship here okay let's get a paragraph B I want you to notice this in the first two years of Jesus's ministry were on the third year now were winding down to that final nine months final 12 to nine months before the cross in the first two years of his ministry he taught mostly the multitudes I mean the disciples were there but he was approaching I mean he was focusing on the multitudes he was teaching many different truths about the nature of God the nature of the kingdom etc but in the final year his focus is on the Apostles and he's actually avoiding the multitudes and in that final 12 months the focus is he wants them to understand who he is as the Messiah and number two to understand the true nature of discipleship that's the focus of his final year because he's preparing them for the book of Acts leadership he's preparing them for leadership in the church when he's gone so one of the main things he's doing here this final year trying to help them gain spiritual understanding to overcome hardness of heart now hardness of heart sounds like real like terrible like they're really mean guys hardness of heart is another term for unbelief and he challenged the Apostles with hardness of heart he wasn't challenging them with rebellion but the fact that when he did something they didn't take the implications of it seriously in their own life and create a new expectation about his leadership and his sovereignty despair in their life and the Lord looked at that he said this is hardness of heart I want you to I want you to connect the dots better on what I'm doing in your life I want your heart with a greater expectation let's look at Roman numeral 2 we're gonna start off with Jesus is going to expose the external ISM in the the religion of the Pharisees the scribes the Pharisees and he's going to use their application of the food laws back in the Old Testament under Moses Moses had identified a number of laws related to clean unclean foods and what had happened is that Israel got captivated with the rituals and the laws and they lost the meaning of them and they ended up with this externalism where they didn't have a heartfelt relationship with God but they were preoccupied with external rituals now these food laws this passage here in mark 7 is quite important because for the first generation the Jewish leaders I mean for some decades in the church in the first century they were tripping over these food halls they were wanting to make the food laws mandatory obedience to God issues to the Gentiles and to the whole body of Christ and the spirit and the word Paul the Apostle and others the Spirit was saying no don't do that it's relationship based it's not about the external rituals get your mind off of those they were actually pointing to Christ they were symbolic of purity relating to him but now that he's come we don't need those that's what Jesus is beginning to introduce right here and this was a brand-new idea to the scribes and Pharisees I mean their whole religious system was based on these sets of rituals that if you did um it would designate your status in the community who's in who's out and you could be far away from God in your heart but be esteemed as a very spiritual godly person according to how you took hold of these external rituals and how you showed off and bragged about them and showed them to everybody etc well let's begin again he's talking about true discipleship here let's get away from external ISM and let's get with a heartfelt reality that's the point here verse 1 the Pharisees came together they've come up from Jerusalem now this is the sella second delegation that's come up remember Galilee is up in the north when the group from Jerusalem comes that's kind of the big guys from Jerusalem we're coming up to investigate Jesus in order to accuse him I mean they're they're looking for more info to dismiss him in the nation so they came up from Jerusalem verse 2 now they saw some of the disciples and these disciples were eating bread with defiled hands unwashed hands and the descibe and the upon mean the Pharisees found fault with this they thought see you guys are not godly look at what you're doing you're not upholding the Old Testament food rituals that's what's going on here verse 3 now the Pharisees mark went on to explain to the Gentiles readers of this book because he's writing to the Romans I'm into the Roman Empire to the Gentiles he goes I want you to know the Pharisees he's explaining they don't eat food unless they wash their hands in a special ritual is the idea and they equated these rituals with obedience to God and they established who was in and who was out with God based on these rituals verse 4 he goes it goes to the sixth ring even when they go to the marketplace they won't eat unless they wash their hands and the reason because in the marketplace they would touch items that Gentiles touched and they would be defiled and they didn't want to be defiled by touching anything the Gentiles touched and Mark would unexplained in verse four he goes there's all these rules there's that related to how they wash cups and pictures and copper vessels and couches and chairs he goes it goes on and on and on they're completely preoccupied with this externalism and not a heart relationship with the Lord so the Pharisees asked him why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but they eat bread with unwashed hands I mean you know if you're reading this the first time I thought that's something my mom used to ask me when I was seven years old but it's they're not talking about hygiene here that's not what's going on they're talking about the disciples namely Jesus just ignoring the rituals that the tradition of the elders established now paragraph B the tradition of the elders this was their oral law and what I mean by oral law it was laws they created that they passed from generation to generation that we're not even in the Bible they just made them up and they established them and passed them on and they made them equal to Commandments with God verse six Jesus said Isaiah exposed this seven hundred years ago when he prophesied Isaiah said this is back in Isaiah chapter 29 verse 13 for those that like to get the reference there Isaiah said the people of Israel and he really meant the leaders their heart is far from me they worship in vain because worship worship is more than things we say to God with music that's involved worship is a whole lifestyle and approach to God it's supposed to express our adoration our gratitude our confidence in his leadership and our gratefulness for who he is he says in verse 7 you don't do any of that in your Jewish religion you're you're far from it you've got all these manmade rituals and he says verse a you lay aside the important Commandments for God and you got all these rituals in place now there's been a lot of rituals that have been passed down in church history for 2,000 years now I'm not talking about somebody thinks that we'll use the word rituals and rules interchangeably than any time a ministry or a local church has any kind of policies they got that's a law that's a rule and he's talking about something more intense than that he's talking about rituals that they equated as commands to God and they judge people if people did not obey those rituals verse paragraph C and verse 10 is going to give an example he's gonna say let me give you an example he says the Old Testament one of the long I mean permanent commands of God Ten Commandments honor your father and your mother verse 11 but you came up with this other rule this other ritual this other law that's not in the Bible you say if a man says to his aging father or mother you know I would have have given you money that I have made in my prosperous business but I've already dedicated my money to God it's what they called the Corbin vow Corbin comes from the Hebrew word my money my property is dedicated to God so they would say sorry mom sorry dad no welfare system no insurance no retirement no you no 401k nothing I know you're starving I know you're hungry but I made a vow to God to give my money to God which means to the scribes and Pharisees into their religious you know institutions and so we can't give it to you we would but we love God so much we made a vow we can't break the vow jesus said you don't let that guy give us money to his aging parents he goes you're making the Word of God ineffectual of no effect the real Word of God has really no bearings on the people under your leadership because you're caught up with all these manipulative ways you're manipulating the law the true Word of God with all these these external rituals etc etc okay paragraph D verse 14 Jesus said to them now he's saying to everybody hear me everybody not just the scribes and Pharisees everyone this is a big announcement he says in verse 15 this was shocking he was the first one to ever say this there's nothing there's no food according to the law of Moses now there's no food that enters into a man from the outside that defiles him it's a new day in essence he's going to say later I missed become clear clear I have fulfilled all that those food walls were symbolic of because they were symbolic of types of purity he goes they're all fulfilled in me so there's no common foods that the Gentiles ate that defile you it's all clean now doesn't work that way that's not how the Philemon happens by what kind of food you eat kosher or non kosher it's a new day this really troubled him he goes what defiles you is not kosher or non kosher food it's things that come out of your heart so now he's he's beginning to train on true discipleship because it's heartfelt issues it's it's issues of lust and desire and wrong things that we resist and we bring our life under the leadership of the Lord that's how we show true spirituality not by religious rituals verse 21 for from within out of the heart proceed evil things it's not about kosher or non kosher food but it's about adultery and fornication and murder and theft and covetousness etc etc verse 23 this is what defiles a person's heart not their approach to external ISM now again that seems pretty obvious to us but this was radical this is really new and what I'll say again these laws in the Old Testament they spoke symbolically of what would happen in the Messiah's reign in the New Covenant and he and so relationship to him fulfilled all of what they spoke of so Christians are not mandated after Christ to observe the dietary laws of the law of Moses and the Bible's really couldn't the argument that early church leaders the Jewish ones they argued with each other for a whole generation on this point because they were so entrenched even the believers were entrenched in this and so Jesus is shifting the way that true spirituality is applied and pursued it's by dealing with heart issues in a relationship of love with the Lord that's what he's saying okay paragraph II now Jesus leaves that setting that debate and he goes verse 24 to the region of Tyre and Sidon now the region of Tyre sired Sidon is Phoenicia as what they call it back there back then today it's called Lebanon so you know it's just it's up north and right there on the Mediterranean coast it's modern-day Lebanon and he went there to the area of Phoenicia or modern-day Levin and the idea I want you to pay attention to there's two things she's gonna emphasize number one this Gentile woman now is not only are all foods claim all people are clean so this is a radical thing because the Jews wouldn't eat the Gentile food or relate to Gentile people and Jesus is gonna say I'm gonna now show you openly that anybody that will receive me and come to me they must be received with full honor in the kingdom by everyone in the kingdom that is in relationship or interacts with them that's the point he's making about discipleship but the second thing that he's going to do here is he's going to really emphasize the place of faith and again it's easily - it's easy to lose how important this is in the New Testament in the teaching of Jesus the place of faith but we'll look at that in just a moment here so verse 24 he goes to this Gentile area tyre and sidon which is again modern-day Lebanon there's a woman her daughter has a demon she has an unclean spirit so this mother she falls at Jesus's feet verse 26 she was a Greek which transfer means she's a Gentile she's unclean to the Jewish leaders Jesus isn't gonna back away from her he's going to fully embrace her is the message this radical resistance to racism whether it's political religious or social is what is being communicated here in the modern setting that Jesus was in and they all got the message I mean even the apostles were like whoa and this is like he's really doing this so this lady verse 26 she kept asking Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter so on the very beginning she said Jesus my daughter's demon-possessed he didn't answer Jesus my daughter's demon-possessed that answer hey Jesus I heard about you so he see me he seemingly is ignoring her but she won't back away now he knows he's gonna answer her but he's illustrating not only is it gonna he's he's drawing her heart out her faith out but he's gonna use her as an example he seemingly ignores her but she won't let go that's the message here of faith that's the beginning of it then Jesus says in verse 27 let the children be fit filled first it's not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs the crumbs under the day I mean the little dogs under the table what he's saying here is that the children are the children of Israel he's saying you're a Gentile it's not good to take the children's bread which is Jesus's power to heal the Messiah the son of David and just give it to the little dogs now he's seemingly refusing her and even insulting her now he's not in his heart he throws us at her and she refuses to be denied she said verse 28 even the little dogs get the crumbs I want the crumbs from your hand and Jesus looked at her verse 29 she refused to be denied I mean he seemingly ignored her he's seemingly consulted her and refused her and she said I refuse to let go then he turned the conversation around he said verse 29 because you said this because you responded in this refusal to let go the demon is gone now Matthew says it a little differently I like Matthew 15 28 same-same an incident Matthew adds Jesus said a woman great is your faith so the two lessons of discipleship that everyone's accepted and her faith really mattered because she would have let go and backed away her daughter would not have been healed now there's times in our relation with the Lord were seemingly ignored seemingly refused even insulted like how could you be God and let this happen to me Lord says come on keep coming keep coming check out that syrophoenician woman that that that Gentile and in mark 7 look at her he's looking at the disciples and saying I want you guys this way I want you to be fully accepting and fully expecting accepting of all people who come to my table and expecting miracles from God accepting and expecting put them together disciples so they're kind of getting the message because as we looked at our session last week when the Samaritans didn't come to the meeting John one to coal fire and Burnham burn the city Jesus said no John you don't have it yet that happens actually right here in this context Kilis look at page three now Jesus goes to the other side of the Sea of Galilee because he was over on the Mediterranean coast that's on the west side now he goes to the east side to Decapolis now Decapolis is also a primarily Gentile region he's making his point all foods are clean all people are clean and he's emphasizing it because again Peter in in the back chef's pretend he's gonna struggle with these two points and mrs. as the chief apostle he still doesn't get this clear even in the book of Acts for a while in Acts chapter 10 unfolds this Peter does get it but Jesus was laying out these principles of true discipleship right here now this time he fed the four thousand now back in mark six were just in mark 7 he had fell mark 8 now but in mark six he fed the 5,000 those are predominantly Jewish people and he was revealing himself as God now he's V revealing himself to the Gentiles and what he's saying is the compassion that I have for people there is no difference and this is again startling the Apostles a little bit because he's doing the same miracles on the unclean Gentiles that he was doing on the people of Israel same two lessons there except all the people and they're expect miracles from God again that's easy to say but people at the heart level don't always go there even even leaders of the body of Christ that have been in there for years they have an element of drawing back and dishonouring people that look different and approach Christianity different I mean biblically but they're just doing it different they don't do it our way you know we might not it might be people groups there might be denominations or streams in the body of Christ we I don't know you know I don't like those guys Jesus is saying no no true discipleship can't do that and there's several passages in Matt mark 7 to 9 they're not developing right now but he's saying you got to receive everyone who comes in my name I want a radical refusal of any traces of racism whether it's based on ethnic or gender or age or social status or denomination or what stream and the body of Christ I went all of it gone in the body of Christ and that's what he's saying here so he he verse one he has will we go through this fast verse two let's go there he has that compassion on the multitude he said they've been with me three days they have nothing to eat verse three he goes send them if I send them away hungry they're gonna faint because they came from a far distance so verse four his disciples said where are we gonna get bread to feed them this bothers Jesus he just fed the 5,000 he looks at them and says okay where where where might we get bread to feed them and they're going I don't like guys it was just a little while ago I fed the 5,000 and then that very night I walked on the water and came to you and called Peter out of the boat you declared I was God this was just a little while ago okay so Jesus gives him a little hint verse 5 he asked them the same question here in mark 8 with the four thousand that he asked them back in mark 6 with a five thousand saved question he goes hey how many loaves do we have in other words is this conversation familiar and they go I think 7 verse 6 he took the seven broken multiplied the food verse 8 they had seven baskets full afterwards verse 9 it's four thousand so it's it's a different setting than the other one two different group of people same reality but we're going to find in a few moments the Apostles are still not connecting the dots they're going can we be sure that all this is really going to work in a consistent way I mean they and Jesus is saying how how could you respond in this kind of heart hard-heartedness okay let's look at Roman numeral four okay we go on to the next part of mark chapter 8 Jesus gets into the boat now he goes back to the other side of the sea goes back to the west side and you could read the notes and follow the direction more carefully on your own time if you want so he goes now back it's Decapolis on the east side now he goes back to the west side the Pharisees verse 11 remark 8 they came out and they went to argue with him and want to test him they said we want a sign from heaven now they're not wanting a miracle a healing because if we said oh lord give us a sign and somebody that was blind could see we'd say that's the sign that's not what they're talking about they're talking about a sign that Joel the prophet said that when the Messiah comes there'll be signs in the heavens they want to sign that no man can manipulate maybe the blind man wasn't really blind really the dead man was faking being deaf give us a sign in the sky that nobody could manipulate because that's what Joel said the Messiah would do the Sun and the moon and the stars they would all be affected at the word of the Messiah and at his appearing we want a sign we don't want these miracles we don't know who your people are maybe they're not really as sick as they say they are but they're testing him they're not really looking for a way to find out if he's really God they're looking at a way to trap him because if he doesn't do a sign I guess I see the true son of David would do a sign in the heavens verse 12 Jesus deeply sight is the hardest pained jiggles I have fulfilled all these prophecies about in my life as the Messiah I've done all kinds of miracles you want me to do a sign on demand and I won't and you're ready to completely dismiss me and you're going to use this that I won't produce a sign on demand in the heavens and you're going to prove to the nation of Israel by this I'm not the Messiah and you're gonna hurt a lot of people in the process he says at the end of verse 12 I'm not going to give you a sign but Matthew says a little different go down to paragraph B Matthews version Jesus adds one more phrase which I love this phrase he says in Matthew 16 verse 4 he's in the same context the same conversation you're a wicked adulterous generation no sign will be giving you except for one Matthew 16 says I'll give you one sign the sign of Jonah no what no no we want to sign in the sky not in the sea because I'll give you the sign of Jonah and they're looking at it going what is he talking about what he meant is that Jesus what happened to Jonah Jonah swallowed by a whale and dies in the whales belly I mean he's not in the whales belly for three days you don't have a campfire you know checking out the internet he's dead and three days later the the whale gets a little sick about him and kind of mert right there on the sea on the shore and God raises him from the dead after three days that was a prophetic statement of what would happen to the Messiah and Jesus says you will see a sign of Jonah they're not following it at all I will die but I'll raise from the dead and you'll see me standing in the sky but it will be too late for you we'll be at the end of the age but you will see me and I will be in the sky and that will be your sign but it will be far too late at that time he's talking about at the end of the age when every believer done believe of all of history will witness him on that date all the graves will open and everybody will see the Son of Man in the clouds in glory with the thought the father's glory now they don't understand what he means but that's what he means here's okay I'll give you sign but you're not gonna like it when you see it it's gonna be a long time from now before you see it the sign of Jonah me standing in the sky race from the dead returning in glory that is the sign well paragraph C he gets in the boat goes back to the east side again you could follow the movements a little more precise if you want now as they're going back over to the east side the disciples they said we forgot to take bread I said okay we only have one loaf you know we got 12 guys we got one little loaf of bread so verse 15 jesus charged them beware of the bread say leaven but he's talking at the bread of the Pharisees and of Herod and they said they took it totally wrong they thought that they Jesus was saying okay you only got one loaf twelve guys one loaf well when we get on the other side don't go get the bread from the Pharisees their bread we don't want to associate with them Jesus is not talking about natural bread at all he means the bread the leaven or the bread of the Pharisees he means there he goes on in one passage it describes it it's their hypocrisy it's their externalism their hard-heartedness their unwillingness to see the evidence and respond in a way that was appropriate to the supernatural power of Jesus part of the leaven of the Pharisees was their abuse of authority Jesus is really saying don't follow their way they're teaching in their way of life the Apostles they thought he was saying hey when we get to the other side don't go to the store and buy their bread we want nothing to do with him so verse 16 they reasoned oh Jesus is warning us not to eat their bread okay Lubin what are we gonna do we can't eat their bread when we get over the other side and Jesus looked at them verse 17 he goes why are you thinking this way now you're all worried you're not gonna have bread right because I won't let you buy the pharisees bread i'm not talking about buying their bread and I just multiplied food for five thousand and four thousand why are you concerned that there's no bread only one loaf and they looked at him and he says look it's really key verse 17 and 18 he goes don't you perceive yet don't you get it yet haven't you connected the dots yet these are good guys they're not rebellious but they're not taking it seriously the implications of when God did something before their very eyes they're not taking it to heart and responding in a new way responding and greater expectation expectantly the responding as though that it did happen Jesus said is your heart still hard he calls that hardness of heart and the reason that it's important to understand this because a lot of believers have hardness of heart they're sincere they're good guys they're not trying to live in rebellion and trying to you know make some case for secret sin to keep on going and cast off God's leadership but when God does something he speaks something he stirs their heart he does something right before their eyes in their life or an or around them or in history then they can see and observe and they don't take it to heart and respond to God with new expectancy in a fresh way that's called hardness of heart so he goes on verse 18 he says having eyes don't you see can't you connect the dots having ears don't you when you hear the stories of what I'm doing doesn't it move you to make different responses to me here's the key phrase verse 18 do you not remember you know one of the great lessons of discipleship disciples are people who prioritize remembering one of the great repeated lessons in Scripture is the call to remember remember what he did remember what he said I mean in the word but not only in the woman the word first for sure but the ways he is led in your life remember five years ago when he helped you in that situation bless you in that one way yeah a long time ago the Lord says no no no that was me that was me and you yeah that was then this is now no I want you to remember he goes verse 19 remember the five loaves in the five thousand a couple of months ago how many fragment how many baskets twelve they said okay good verse twenty was just a minute ago I made food for this multiplied food for the four thousand how many baskets seven he goes twenty-one verse Suellen aren't you connecting the dots there's only one loaf of bread and I'm here there's no problem there go yeah that sounds right Jesus say you're gonna be the leaders of salvation history within a year I need to get you guys locked in to what's going on right now I'm gonna be gone and the whole church I'm entrusting to you in the human sense I mean obviously the Holy Spirit but I don't your responses to me are really gonna matter paragraph deep top of page four let's look at paragraph II it's adding up being personal now but I'm talking to you I often probably not enough but I do it a lot but I could probably do it I mean I'm sure I need to do more I reviewed the God's story in my life my god story personally and my god story corporately and my corporate God story is what's happening in my I hop sphere and my god story corporate leaders what's happening in this generation and the body of Christ worldwide but that I have my god story individually you know 40 years ago he did this and that 35 years ago I'm just making up you know dates he said this in that I had the dream the person prophesied it was really the Lord 30 years ago he did this in that 25 years ago this is hell they're just all kinds of little installments and he looks at me now and he says I want you responding to me out of the overflow of those installments I gave you they were me yeah but no yeah but it's not a right response for a true disciple some people it's kind of cool to be cynical but Jesus counts it as a hard heart to not remember and to respond today in the dullness that we had yesterday or the unbelief of yesteryears he goes now I've given you more information I've given you more experiences even little ones I wrote here the his God's story is the way he provided the promises he gave the protection the direction the times he broke in and gave you that phrase of direction and you look back and it was really God's direction it's saved you a big mistake he goes if I did it now that means I'm leading actively in your life right yeah why are you so much anxiety well that was the gap that was before I maybe you won't do it again how many loaves when I fed the 5000 how many of the four thousand how many baskets oh yeah and the Lord says didn't I lead you then then I provide for you then didn't that horrible thing three to five years later work out and you look back no oh my goodness it actually worked out for my good the Lord says relate to me this way as though I'm active and we got a real story together we can lose sight of the God story in our life that's something I really have passion for in this in these and this passage here is that this hardness of heart is such a condition of sincere fiery believers these little installments of promises and provision protection direction they're like little pearls from heaven and we gotta have her in down here they only come occasionally but we want to capture them want to write them down we want to say them back to God often with gratitude and as we do that our gratitude grows our confidence grows our connection grows because already many of these little installments of the Lord's touching your life there's a string of pearls already in your past history the Lord says I want you to draw on them and all that I've said in the word and all that I've done in history that you're aware of that I've spoken to you about I want you to talk to me and relate to me based on them not all I'm a mess my life is finished nothing's gonna work yes where did that come from am I now not existent and everything I did is now not real hardness of heart oh I love you but I know I need your hearts to be in faith hardness of heart and the opposite of that is faith Roman numeral four well the next thing that happens verse 27 of Mark 8 they go to Caesarea Philippi that's up in the north and they're on the road and Jesus asked his disciples you know the passage well who do men say that I am verse 28 one who apostle said some guys think you're John the Baptist raised from the dead like Herod said some people hey Kerry Elisha one of the guys said now they think you're Jeremy or when those other guys Jesus verse 29 now we're talking it's 9 months from the cross they've said he was God when he walked on the water just a month or two earlier and their eyes opened maybe two three months earlier and they were really moved but they they get it and then they kind of waver and then they get it and then they sort of don't get it jesus said you're the Christ Matthew adds it one more phrase you're thus you're the son of the Living God not only are you the Christ the Messiah your God this is remarkable now paragraphs see the Apostles understand he is Messiah now that's good and they understand now that he's God I mean this is remarkable but they still have the wrong that I have an incomplete understanding of what Messiah is I think of a four-step progression in their thinking step one Jesus comes along he shows himself the most anointed man ever really and they go wow you're the Messiah their book minds are blown you are the son of David you're the human Messiah Jesus is okay that's right but you're not even close to the full thing two years go by where here goes okay you're not only the most anointed man son of David your God whom like goodness beloved that's a big leap from the most anointed man to be God the Genesis 1 God Jesus as good but we're not all the way there what what more is there if you're the Messiah in your God he goes I'm the Messiah who is God and I must die tonight that's impossible God knows I can't die yes I'm gonna redeem the nation of Israel been redeemed the nations I'm gonna pay for sin I have to die as the perfect sacrifice they're going where in the bible does God say the Messiah dies this isn't the Messiah we're looking for we're looking for a messiah to defeat Rome he goes I'll defeat Rome what I return in two thousand years I'm gonna defeat everybody but not initially what you get we came all this way your God now you're gonna die how are we gonna accept you're gonna die because well that's them story that's only the third thing you got to buy Fort Hood I'm gonna race from the dead as a human and I'm gonna race all of you from the dead as humans and I'm gonna reward you and you're gonna reign with me forever on earth what okay guys we still got nine months before I die I got some work to do now I want you to get the movements of their faith that has to move and any time is running out course God's never late paragraph D so they say you're the Christ you're your God the next verse mark 8 verse 31 he goes okay here's the key word he began it's a brand new teaching it's a brand new thing to tell him the one that you know is the most anointed man ever that's the Messiah that now you know is God he's gonna die and he's not just gonna die Israel's going to kill him what well the Romans did too at the Jade Palace and everybody did but he's locking in then i'ma go to Jerusalem and be betrayed by the leaders of the covenant nation now again the Romans wait in our sin wait and everybody waited but this is doubly scandalous to a Jewish he's young Jewish men that grew up in Israel not not our guys I could see Rome rejecting you and Rome bid rejected no our guys are gonna reject me but as a human I'll break the bonds of death I'll raise again verse 33 no at the end of 32 Peter pulled him aside Jesus and I don't want to do this I got a intervention I rebuke you for that negative thinking verse 31 jesus turned around cuz he's over there Peter pulled him aside Jesus turned around all the apostles are lucky Peter goes I'm only doing it for your own good the Bible says if you're the Messiah your God wiII win that's it he goes yeah I do win but the Bible says Isaiah 53 Psalm 22 you read it he's crucified he's given over as the offering for sin like well we don't even know those verses very well he rebuked even he says verse 33 get thee behind me Satan Peter Satan is inspiring you to think this way you want a cross lusts Jesus beloved the man that he says man you are not mindful of the things of God you're full in your mind of the things of man man that's not what the cross man doesn't want a messiah they go to the cross scandalous man doesn't want a messiahs leadership where we embrace the cross ah and we don't want history going to the cross which is what the Great Tribulation is all about we don't want the cross anywhere we don't want it in our leader we don't want it in his leadership over our life or over human history now when the earth in those last three and a half years of the birth pangs there it's not earning salvation but it is in the conflict the cross in that in regard of our life it's when our desires of darkness are colliding with the will of God we let go of the dark desires and embrace the will of God that's called dying to ourself at the cross and it's not just happen to the Messiah it's his leadership style I heard one preacher say the same God that orchestrated the crucifixion of his son is orchestrating your crucifixion and what I mean I don't mean to earn your salvation our crucifixion is different it has ours is we're dying to selfish impulses resisting them and embracing the will of God that's called the cross the he told Peter your mind is fill with man's way in satan is inspiring you top of page 5 well now he picks up the pace he says let me tell you verse 34 not only am I going to the cross but my leadership style is to lead you into a cross lifestyle but don't worry whenever I lead anyone to the cross I always raise them from the dead there's always a resurrection when there is that cross collision that embracing of dying to dark desires to obey the will of God we say no to our way say yes to his way we die but there's always a resurrection because the God who leads us in the way of the cross is the God who is the source of the way of the resurrection so he called verse 34 all the people not just the apostles he says this isn't just for the twelve back then this is the way of might this for everybody whoever denies desires to come after me they have to deny themselves or 35 if they want to save their physical natural way of things they want to save their natural security and comfort zones and they want to keep in control of their life he said they're gonna lose they're gonna lose with me if they want to be the leader of their life they're gonna lose out with me however if they let go and lose their own natural way their own natural protection and leadership and guidance in their own way and they embrace my leadership they're gonna gain things beyond anything that could imagine for what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul verse 9 chapter 19 he goes he could no verse 38 he goes who's ever ashamed of me the Son of Man will be ashamed of him you know one of the primary issues of embracing the cross as a believer is standing publicly with what Jesus is standing for the body of Christ our natural way is to be salient where he's not silent because we don't want the stigma and Jesus said I don't want just to say I'm this your Savior I'm we to stand with my leadership if you're ashamed of me and there's different you know levels of how this is applied I will be ashamed of you because I'm coming back it's time delayed 2,000 years plus but it's sure I'm coming back and glory first not chapter 9 verse 1 ego as a matter of fact there's some of you right here the you are standing here you're gonna see the kingdom of God in the glory of God let's look at a I've got a page 6 here I have all a little bit more the notes on denying yourself etc well let's go back one back to page 5 we want the very last time look at the very last verse paragraph F in this message when Jesus says deny yourself the Matthew version of it adds one more phrase that mark doesn't says in verse 27 this is Sookie the Son of Man yeah I'm dying that's new to you but as a man I might be raised from the dead okay that's their brains are going I'm going to be raised with the human body I'm gonna be physical man forever with a resurrected body okay but it's more than that I'm coming back to the earth in the glory of God and I'm gonna reward every one of you in the resurrection every one of you according to how you respond to my leadership now you're gonna be in the same paradigm I am you're gonna make costly decisions that will have a time-delayed reward but that time-delayed reward I mean there's rewards in this age but the big ones come when the Lord returns he goes there last forever and you're gonna have the glory of God in your life but it's going to be on the same basis that I do I obey now don't see all the fruit now Jesus saw some of his fruit then but I'm going to see the fullness of it later that's how you're going to do and there's thinking we don't even know about a messiah like this who leads this way who talks this way top of page six will just end with this quickly the Transfiguration mark dine we start in paragraph a verse one we're picking up with the first we just left off surely I say to you there are some of you standing here that won't taste death until you see the kingdom now if people go when is that and most commentators and I agree with them believe it's the very next verse it's the Mount of Transfiguration the three who sold the kingdom and power were James Peter James and John verse two he took him up on a high mountain verse two he transfigures in front of him he changes the glory of God is released into his physical body his face is shining his garments are glorious the glory but they're looking at where it's going because Jesus just the verse before said I'm coming back in the father's glory and some of you are gonna actually see what that's about here he is standing his face is shining like the Sun his garments are supernatural Shekinah glory the cloud of God is resting on him and they're going this is this is the tent jesus said I want you to get it Peter James and John that when I told you a minute ago I'm gonna die this is how it ends up I end up in the glory of God I didn't fail nothing's going bad this is the divine plan look at verse 4 Elijah and Moses are there they're going Elijah and Moses Moses speaks of the law Elijah speaks of the prophet the two greatest men in the Old Testament here they are Peter James and John go what is going on here and Moses and Elijah the law of the prophets they're saying Jesus is in the glory of God they're saying your statement about dying and raising from the dead and your leadership is being validated by God this is the way the kingdom Peter James and John are going you're really going to this Moses Elijah and they said yeah Luke chapter 9 when they give their version of it Luke does says that Moses and Elijah are actually discussing Jesus's death that's coming in Jerusalem Peter James and John are going even Moses and Elijah believe you're going to die and that seems okay with them and nothing's the Train isn't off the track the plan of God is moving in the right direction they go yes and then the voice speaks verse 7 the glory cloud like the glory cloud came on Moses on the mountain the voice came and said this is my beloved son Peter James and John his fit my favours on him he is the Messiah that will die nothing is going wrong it's supposed to be that way he has my favor he's fulfilling my will now Peter James and John listen to him you have nine more months to get it listen to him he's telling you the truth he is gonna die she's gonna raise from the dead you're gonna embrace a lifestyle of the Cross you're gonna have resurrection power the goodness of everything you do in the will of God will last forever listen to him so Peter James and John man they come off this mountain paragraphs say another month or two goes by Jesus talks to them again he goes hey remember what happened up on the mountain a couple months ago like a paragraph siege mark 9 verse 30 he goes I want you to know again he told him three times three times in the scriptures he gave them in the last nine months three different times he gave them I'm going to die and raise again sermon and they never got it ever even though the voice on the mountain said listen to my son my favors on him he's my beloved listen to him when Jesus died they just caved in and fell away but the good news is the Lord prayed for them Jesus did and they recovered paragraph D this is the thing we looked at last week right after he says I'm going to die they're fighting / who's going to be greater in the glory of God Jesus said no no that is the way of man who's gonna be over who the way of my kingdom serve and it will and what you do will last forever in the fruit of your servanthood I will see it and reward it and remember forever then in paragraph II the final thing of the discipleship he says I want you to know you're gonna make costly choices and following my leadership I'm the Messiah who dies I'm gonna lead you to say no to the spirit of this world it's gonna come to real costly choices at times he says if your hand verse 43 causes you to sin be radical cut it off now he's not talking about self-mutilation that's not what he's talking about he's saying make costly choices yeah this Sates like I am doing I'm going to the cross so all the same message here because I'm going to the cross make choices break your agreement with immorality break your agreement with any acts of darkness do it because what benefit will it give you with where we're going forever together then it goes on in verse 49 and the NZ says for everybody with his strange proverb will be seasoned with fire he's talking about believers and the fires a good fire he's talking about the fire of purification he said every believer will be seasoned like salt because the Old Testament sacrifices had to have salt in them when they were offered to God and Jesus is using that Old Testament terminology he says your lifestyle you will resist everything that gets in the way of love you're gonna be radical you're gonna make costly decisions you're gonna embrace my leadership style in your life and your life will be like an offering seasoned with salt purified by the fire of God and you will see that it is worth it you will see the wisdom of my Messiah leadership and you're gonna walk in it in your own life amen let's have the worship team come up you know Jesus never apologized preachers do he said I want all of your money I want your loyalty over every relationship I want you if sinful practices I want you to be radical remove that part of your life radically and you may die for me and II never apologize but it goes you'll never regret it if you die physically for my name I mean we've kind of westernized and Christianized and kind of really tamed the gospel the gospel is a radical commitment to a radical man who lived out the commitment and leads his people in it because it's where the glory of God is that's his leadership style amen let's stand before the Lord Father here we are we say yes the true discipleship we want what you want there's folks in the room right now you're well I'm in of probably all of us I mean I couldn't answer everything I'm about to say here but hardness of heart the Lord says I've given you words you've seen my provision through the years I've over and over why are you responding to me so with so much unbelief other folks he's saying externalism you're all this external stuff I want you going deep and interacting with me others he's saying I want you to extend for me not to be shamed of me I want you to embrace my leadership and stand wherever I'm standing for @issue don't draw back from me others he's saying I want you to he used three parts of the body he goes cut the hand off cut the eye off the foot off another he doesn't literally mean it some guys really do that and it's it's completely outside of what God means deal radical with that issue of immorality deal radical with that issue of finances that is dishonest and against the will of God deal radical with what you're doing in that relationship of bitterness be rad cut your arm off if you have to be radical I think probably everyone in this room is dealing with one of those four issues if not a couple of them so as we're leading and worship here I want you to talk to the Lord for a few minutes say Lord I want to be the real deal I'm gonna be just some kind of cotton candy Christian that gets patted on the back in the Western culture I want to be a true in time disciple of Jesus here we are Lord before you Father we say we love your leadership we want to go all the way with you we want to do the Bible the Jesus of the Bible I'm gonna invite anybody to come forward that would like to receive prayer or Ori maybe want to come just to pray and be alone or you can do that your chair of course but you want to come and stand before the Lord and say I gotta I gotta settle this issue and I'm hard-hearted I got to stop I got to move on it would invite you to come forward it's a call to true discipleship [Music] mark seven eight nine others these fruit chapters are so intense [Music] Lord here we are all over there's no price to great oh so many are so concerned about the price they're paying there's no price to it was all your money all your time all your life all your dreams you want your life what do we say we renounce the way of man is thinking the Peter said yes to a cross Christianity but here we are true disciples what you say I say what you pray over what you pray Jesus only did what he saw you do what you speak Jesus here we all when he's about you you just talk to the Lord ask the Holy Spirit leave your schema get a new journey with you on that he's shagging settles in your life with [Music] sir [Applause] ever you [Music] he's good you are always good [Music] I'll follow you Jesus said will you follow me follow the lamb wherever he goes where you go what you say I say what you pray every what you pray [Music] will you go out go what'd you say I say what you pray Lord we wanna say no to the fury of unbelief or that area of unrighteousness in our what you say what's free of a or we went to breakers create darkness in our life [Music] go what you say I say what you pray what you pea [Music] [Applause] [Music] don't be sad why you speak [Music] how can I that Jesus made [Music] they say yesterday with [Music] you are always good you [Music] I love it this is an important passage of scripture to interact with him about [Music] his leadership in her life [Music] I will trust you later to say we say yes to your leadership we say yes to you [Music] or the cost is not too great to follow you in all of armour [Music] I just [Music] I will go [Music] Jesus told Peter your ways are the ways of man Peter [Music] we expose the lies that Peter took hold of it's not worth it to go all the way [Music] we expose the deception of a Crossley's Christianity [Music] [Applause] they say your leadership is good [Music] yes what you pray what you Brea [Music] what you pray what you free [Music] as you say what you pray what [Music] say yes once you play we love your leadership Jesus [Music] we will follow the lamb wherever he goes [Music] we say it's work that Jesus also dichlorine [Music] this [Music] jacuzzi we renounce all those lies in arguments and it's not worth it to go all the way [Music] [Music] for the same [Music] just know good just to know for the sake just to know you more for the save [Music] just to know you more [Music] [Music] [Music] I give it to you and here's mine [Music] [Music] to you [Music] [Music] changement still wherever you go see [Music] I know I can trust [Music] they changed [Music] the Lord wants us to lay down the self-indulgence of unbelief it's drawing back and just kind of nurturing our unbelief in self-indulgence it says lay it down radically embrace what I say let go of the self-indulgence of your own unbelief my words are true take hold of them as though they're true [Music] we'll ask all over this room that you just release the wind of your spirit whispers on our heart just as individuals are meditating quietly before you [Music] all we love the way of your kingdom [Music] infinitely good infinity bad then I could have imagined [Music] I give it all [Music] it's like it's better trusty [Music]

Channel: Mike Bickle Official

Views: 1,993

Rating: 4.909091 out of 5

Keywords: ihopkc, International House of Prayer, Mike Bickle, Studies in the Life of Christ, The Bible, Jesus, Life of Christ, Christianity, Christian, Discipleship, Prayer, Prayer Room, Religion

Id: 1SbatnlJ_FI

Length: 80min 18sec (4818 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 28 2017