Courage - The Catalyst to Breakthrough, Part 2

What keeps us from taking that dynamic step that causes the chain reaction of God’s power to come into our life?

Barrier number one: Courageous steps that overcome this barrier – Our first barrier is our traditions.

We open it up in Mark chapter 7. Now, you can scan the passage, but I’m going to tell you what’s in it. Seven times, the word tradition is there. And Jesus says, “Your traditions nullify the truth of the Word of God, actually, the barrier of your tradition keeps you from obeying what God actually says.

The second one, He says there’s a barrier of our unworthiness. Right after this – it’s interesting – the issue was whether you’re unclean, and right after this, Jesus is trying to get a little R&R, if you will. I mean, He’s been bombarded by all these people. They want His time; they want His energy. And so, He gets away – verse 24: “Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and didn’t want anyone to know it; yet He could not keep His presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about Him, a woman whose little girl was possessed by an evil spirit came, fell on her face, and she begged Him to heal her little girl.”

And so, this is a woman – the author wants to note – she’s a Gentile, Greek origin, she’s a woman. She breaks in; she’s uninvited. She does everything wrong. But she’s passionate.

And the conversation goes, as you read it a little bit later, and He says, “Look, I came for the house of Israel,” the Jewish nation. And the Gentiles were called “dogs” in that day, in a slang term, and Jesus, I think, testing her says, “I came for the children, and not for the dogs.”

And her answer of faith was, “Even the dogs, after the children eat, get to come in and get the crumbles under the table.” And basically, what she’s saying is, “You know what? I believe in You, and I don’t have any hope, but I – I don’t care what anyone says. I don’t care. I’m coming, and I need Your hand.” And then, the text says, “Daughter, go home. You’ve answered well. Your faith – your daughter’s well.” But you know, if I was one of those disciples, I would say, “That woman is unworthy.”

The third barrier is the barrier of our deafness. Right after this, we read a group of people come, and they have a friend who’s deaf and mute, and they bring him to Jesus. Look at your text: They beg Him. Notice the pattern. The people at the end of chapter 6, they brought their friends, and they begged Jesus to heal. The woman comes, and she begs for her daughter. And now, they come, and they beg for their friend – he can’t hear, and he’s a mute. And so, Jesus takes him aside, out from the crowd. He heals him. Some of us, you can’t hear from God.

And then, we get the fourth barrier. It’s not just our deafness, but it’s our lack of resources. I wonder how many times those of us – God shows us a need – a need at a local school, a need with some people that can’t make their house payment, a need with some people – and we say, you know, “God, I would really help out, but I don’t have the resources.” What’s God saying? Courage is the catalyst to breakthrough. Take what you do have, take a step, and start meeting some need. And then, what you’ll see? God will show up.

The fifth is blindness. He’s going to heal a blind person. Jesus is going to have a little talk with His disciples, and He’s going to say, “I’ve shown you, miraculously, hearing and seeing, and you can trust Me.” And yet, they don’t get it.

In fact, notice the two groups that don’t get it. Skip back up, now, to verse 11: “The Pharisees came and began to question Him.” And so, they come, not to hear, not to learn, not to grow. What’s it say? “They came to test Him, and they asked Him for a sign from heaven. And He sighed deeply, ‘Why does this generation ask for miraculous signs? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given.’ And then, He left them and got into the boat.”

See, here are people that really think they’ve got it wired, and this is how we do with God, sometimes: “You know what? I’m kind of hearing this stuff, God. When You restore my marriage, get me a good job, I get my house back, and my kid’s life turns around – and by the way, I’ve had this chronic pain. Take care of that, too. When You do all that, then I think I’ll believe.”

Let me tell you Jesus’ response: He sighs deeply, and says, “You know, faith isn’t you seeing all the things, and then… Faith is choosing to step out of the boat, when you feel afraid, and believing what I’ve said.” See, they weren’t sincere. They were trying to manipulate. They came to test Him.

And then, notice the disciples, because these are the people I think I identify with, and, you know, by now, isn’t there part of you that’s thinking, if you were walking around with Jesus – five thousand people, four thousand people, a deaf guy, a blind man – I mean, at some point, wouldn’t you think, Hey, I believe in this guy! If He says it, let’s do it.

And yet, we pick up the disciples’ response. Picking up in verse 14, chapter 8: “The disciples had forgotten,” so, they leave the Pharisees; they’re in the boat. They’d forgotten to bring any bread, except for just one loaf. And Jesus, He’s always teaching, like, we’re supposed to teach our kids and help one another. They’re in the boat, and He says, “Now, be careful of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”

A little lesson: As you’re seeing all these miracles, I want you to trust Me. I want you to be courageous. I want you to step out. But you need to understand, there’s a yeast – the yeast is something that starts small and infiltrates. And the yeast of the Pharisees is hypocrisy. Guys, you’ve got to guard – it’s easy to go there. The yeast of Herod is power, and you can get intoxicated with that. And He’s trying to guard their heart from what can happen.

And then, “Aware of their discussion” – look in your text. Look at the Bible – verse 17: “Jesus asked them: ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?’” The answer is yes. And in the Bible, a hard heart is unbelief.

“Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls and pieces did you pick up?” And, I think, in unison, they all said, “Twelve.” “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets or pieces did you pick up?” And they said, “Seven.” “And He said, ‘Do you still not understand?’”

The most encouraging part about this is, you can have that much experience, and be that close to Jesus, and see those many miracles, and still have your heart hardened. They’re still not willing to step out, they’re still not courageous, and they still don’t believe. They don’t have enough bread for a little trip from point A to point B, and, “Oh, what are we going to do?”

But how many times do we do that? Isn’t that a barrier?

The final barrier we’re going to uncover, when the disciples get close, and now it’s sort of exam time – the barrier of self-interest. And I do pray that you’ll dig in and spend some time reading, slowly, from chapter 6 all the way through chapter 9. But the self-interest goes something like this: He gets the disciples alone, which is His pattern. Miracles, teaching, small-group disciples, explanation. Checking, small-group disciples, explanation. Specific questions to see what they’re learning.

And so, as we flow through the text, at the end of chapter 8, Jesus says, “So, who do men say that I am?” “Well, some think John the Baptist, others Elijah, others the prophet that’s to come.” Now, the author has just told you that the disciples are blind. They see, but they don’t understand. And so, Jesus heals someone who sees partially, and then, the next question helps them see fully. And so, He’s picturing, for us, the process. And so, “Yeah, you’re pretty close – a prophet, Elijah, John the Baptist. But who do you say that I am?” And, again, this is Peter. He just steps up, inspired by the Spirit of God: “You are the Messiah. You are the Son of the living God.” “Peter, A-plus, and you didn’t get that yourself. God gave that to you. The Father revealed that to you.”

And by the way, that’s how this works. We take steps, but the Spirit of God will powerfully and supernaturally confirm and reveal, inside your heart, the reality of who He is. And so, as you take steps of faith, He’ll let you know, “I’ll support. I’ll show up.”

But then, something happens, because as God begins to work in our life, then Jesus begins a little bit of the truth. And the truth is, men all prophesied through the Old Testament is, yes, the Messiah will come and reign. But before He reigns, He’s going to be a suffering servant. And the text says He began to explain to them, plainly, that He would die and rise on the third day, that He would be betrayed by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. And He was kind of preparing them.

And as He’s preparing them – does anybody remember what our great hero, Peter, does? Peter takes Him aside, “Hey, Lord, I don’t know what You’re thinking, but You need to cut that one. That is not the right message. Look, we’ve got thousands of people. The money is rolling in. These miracles – I mean, You are the man. Rome’s going down, Pharisees are going out. You’re the big dude, and we’re with You. So.”

I mean, that was their view! And after being the hero who heard from God – “You’re the Messiah” – what’s Jesus say to him? He says the harshest words that any human being, I think, has ever heard: “Get behind me” – not Peter – “Satan!” See, Satan’s the father of lies.

But then, what’s the explanation? “For you do not have on your mind and heart the things of God, but the things of men.” In other words, “You want to use Me. You don’t want Me to fulfill the Father’s will. You don’t care about anyone else, Peter, you want to use Me. You don’t want the price; all you want is the product. You’re not willing to follow Me and to suffer and realize this is God’s plan. You really want Jesus to be sort of your little self-help genie, to make your life work out your way.”

Anybody else, other than me, struggle with that? It’s a barrier. What lessons did He want them to learn? If you went through each one of these, He wants them to learn, God’s Word, not tradition, is what you go by. God’s love – no respecter of persons. God’s power – available in impossible situations, even when you’re dim – deaf. Might be dim and deaf.

God’s provision is always available, and that God’s demands – here’s the hard part – are for your good.

See, Peter unconsciously thought he knew what was best for his future, his life, and his relationships. And, again, he forgot about God’s goodness. There are things God will ask you and me to do in following Him, that are hard, that are unpleasant, and that are scary. And what we have to remember, He’s a sun and a shield. He gives grace and glory, and there’s nothing good that He withholds.

In fact, look at chapter 9, because - there is a question that every one of us will have to answer. There’s a path that we must take, and a vision to acquire. And what He does, here, is, He helps weak people get courage. I mean, the whole goal of what’s happening right here is, He wants these followers to be infused with courage.

And so, when He asks them – here’s the question He asks them, but He asks us: Who do you think Jesus is?

Is He a good, moral character, is it a biblical worldview, is it try hard to be a nice person, or has the living God died for you, risen from the dead, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the one to whom all people of all time, every knee will bow, every tongue confess, and He’s invited you to a personal relationship, to follow Him? That’s a lot different than, “I believe in God, and Jesus paid for my sin, and I kind of live my life, and I squeeze Him in when I can.”

And the path – what’s the path? Look at verse 34. He says to them, “If any man, if any woman would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.” He’s saying, power is resurrection power, but the only way you experience resurrection power is when there’s a death.

And what you have to die to – and this is the hard part – is your agenda, and take your future and your relationships and your finances and your kids and your uncertainty and your work and your dreams, and you offer them to God and say, “I’m all in. I’ll follow You.”

And when we say that, what the enemy whispers is, “Well, then, it’ll be hard. It’ll be terrible. You’ll never get married. You’ll never have any money. It’s going to be really rough.” And all that is like – oh, so God, He’s willing to die for you, and loves you that much, but He really wants life on earth to be just a real pain in the rear. That’s how we act.

And so, what does He say? Afterwards, He tries to help His disciples, with His arm around them, saying, “Guys, don’t you understand? This is the path I will follow. I will die, and I will rise from the dead, and I’m going to blaze the trail. Because unless a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it remains by itself, alone. But if it dies, it bears forth much fruit. For what will it profit a man or a woman if you gain the whole world, but you forfeit your soul?”

He’s saying, “I’ve got your best interests – there are some things that are hard, but you want deep relationships, you want My blessing in your life, you want to have a connection with your kids, you want My hand of power and blessing upon your work? Take up your cross to follow Me.

Well, how does this all work? I’m going to take everything we’ve talked about, and I want to walk through and give you a very linear, specific path and game plan to apply it. Because if you’ll take a step of courage, you will see God show up, in you and through you, like never before.

Here’s the path. The analysis: Fear keeps us from stepping out to unleash God’s power into impossible situations. Fair? We’re all afraid. But it keeps us from stepping out. I know I should, I know I ought, but we don’t.

Two, stepping out requires courage. Courage is the power to act, despite our fears. Courage is birthed in us when we see God for who He is, and therefore, the size of our God becomes greater than the size of the obstacles, our problems, and our fear.

Courage is birthed when our circumstances are so impossible, and we’re so desperate, that we step out and seek God’s help because we have exhausted all other options. Have you ever noticed that the biggest times in your life where God showed up was when you didn’t bring anything to the party, you were desperate?

Courage, then, demands faith that God will do what He’s promised. I mean, I don’t step out – I’m not Peter until I believe, if He said, “Come,” I can come! So, do you have faith?

Well, where do you get faith? Faith is a result of seeing Jesus up close, for who He is.

And so, did you notice in chapter 9, verse 2, He has them on this journey. He wants them to have courage. He knows courage comes through faith. He wants them to step out. How are they going to get faith? He takes His three key guys – James, John, and Peter – up on a mountain, and remember? What’d He say? “You see, but you don’t understand. You hear, and you don’t get it.”

And so, He takes them up the Mount of Transfiguration, and it wasn’t a light from heaven, contrary to movies. The light came out of Jesus. He pulled back, and they saw the glory of the Son of God. And I mean, it was bright!

And then, all of a sudden, two people show up that these guys trust. Moses – what was Moses? Moses was the greatest revealer of God’s truth in the Old Testament. Elijah is the greatest revealer of God’s power. And these three guys, with all their doubts, all of a sudden – whoo! – “This is who Jesus is. I see it.”

And here’s the testimony, and then, a cloud comes, and they actually hear; they’re not deaf anymore. “This is My dearly loved Son. Listen to Him.” And those three guys will believe, and they’ll be courageous because they believe. And Jesus took them up so they could see Him for who He is.

And notice, we can, in our day, and here’s how: Prayer is God’s invitation to see Jesus up close and believe He will do what is impossible for you.

You need to totally revamp how you think about praying. Okay, five minutes, eight minutes, ten minutes, twelve minutes – okay. I think I’m supposed to do a little – “Okay, thank You, God. Thank You, God. Help me. I’ll see you later.” You know, “I’ll catch You in the car.” God wants a relationship.

What do you really want? What do you really want? Intentional, passionate, focused – “God, I want You to restore my marriage.” “God, I would like a husband, or a wife.” “God, I want You to turn one of my kids around.” “God, I think this kid has this opportunity. I want You to do something, so – I want You to open this avenue.” “Lord, I want to build a great business, and I’m telling You on the front end, You can do with it whatever You want, but this is what I’m asking.”

Are you praying like that? “God, I’m mad! God, I’m ticked off! God, I can’t take this anymore! I don’t understand!” The raw, real you, before the living God. Because what God honors is truth. Not these plastic little, “Bless here, and now I lay me down to sleep, and,” you know, “Help us do this, and help us do that.” You don’t really want help. “God, I’m scared to death, and You spoke to me about taking a step, and if You don’t show up, I’m – I’ll sink like Peter.” And for some of you, if you’re like me, you feel like you don’t have time.

And so, our final point is, fasting is choosing to remove whatever distracts us from seeing and experiencing God for who He is.

And by the way, for some of you, food is the last thing in the world you need to fast from. It’s a good start. You need to fast from your phone. You need to fast from Facebook. You need to fast from your hobby. You need to fast from every moment of every time of how much football you’re going to watch, or how many fantasy leagues, or how much time you shop. Whatever it is – some of you need to fast from a relationship. This person is no good for your spiritual, emotional, and intellectual health. You need to fast from them and get away from them for two or three weeks. Now, if it’s your marriage partner, that’s not what I’m recommending.

But do you understand? Do you realize how many of us – you have traditions and habits, and you want God to really work, and you do this and do that for a couple hours, and then, you sit afterwards because you’re exhausted, and you’re exhausted because you didn’t eat very well, and you don’t work out because you don’t have time. You don’t have time, because you’re sitting in front of a TV for two or three hours at the end of every day, and you keep doing it and doing it and doing it and doing it, doing it, and you come here, and you get all fired up, and then, you go, “It doesn’t work.”

Create space! And then, if you do, you won’t last two or three days. You can never sustain any kind of discipline apart from people being in your corner, and you saying, “Will you help me get there?” No one does the journey alone. No one can keep their commitments alone.