WEBVTT 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:14.179 Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. 00:00:14.259 --> 00:00:17.039 What circumstance in your life is so big, so 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:20.100 overwhelming, so difficult that it looks impossible 00:00:20.100 --> 00:00:22.780 to conquer? God wants you to know that you can 00:00:22.780 --> 00:00:25.539 experience His power like never before. That 00:00:25.539 --> 00:00:28.079 there is a breakthrough in situations as you 00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:30.679 learn to trust Him for hope and for healing. 00:00:31.059 --> 00:00:34.759 Today, we begin a journey. How to unleash God's 00:00:34.759 --> 00:00:37.460 supernatural power into your impossible situation. 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:42.219 Stay with me. What impossible situation are you 00:00:42.219 --> 00:00:44.740 facing right now? Maybe it's a broken relationship, 00:00:45.100 --> 00:00:47.719 a health crisis, or a problem that seems too 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:50.659 big to solve. Well, today on Living on the Edge, 00:00:50.840 --> 00:00:53.200 we begin our series, Experience Breakthrough, 00:00:53.320 --> 00:00:56.259 learning how to stop feeling confined by life's 00:00:56.259 --> 00:00:58.920 biggest barriers. Chip Ingram launches a new 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:01.799 series on unleashing God's power into impossible 00:01:01.799 --> 00:01:04.939 situations. From the opening pages of Scripture 00:01:04.939 --> 00:01:07.780 to the life of Jesus, we'll discover that God 00:01:07.780 --> 00:01:10.890 specializes in doing the impossible. He hasn't 00:01:10.890 --> 00:01:13.650 changed. The same God who parted the Red Sea 00:01:13.650 --> 00:01:15.870 wants to work powerfully in your life today. 00:01:16.510 --> 00:01:19.290 Chip titled today's message, The First Step to 00:01:19.290 --> 00:01:22.950 Breakthrough. I was in a town in West Virginia 00:01:22.950 --> 00:01:25.890 where my wife grew up. And I won't mention the 00:01:25.890 --> 00:01:28.650 town in case they ever hear this. Of course, 00:01:28.670 --> 00:01:32.090 they would know who it is. But it's a place that, 00:01:32.090 --> 00:01:34.250 you know, in its prime was maybe 300 people. 00:01:34.310 --> 00:01:39.069 And maybe it's down to 50 people. Probably 90 00:01:39.069 --> 00:01:42.049 % of the people are unemployed, and there's house 00:01:42.049 --> 00:01:46.209 and shack, and it is just, it is the most depressing 00:01:46.209 --> 00:01:50.370 place I've ever been in my life. There's so much 00:01:50.370 --> 00:01:53.689 junk, and they've seen it so long, they don't 00:01:53.689 --> 00:01:56.670 even notice it anymore. And so we're going to 00:01:56.670 --> 00:01:59.609 talk about breakthrough. God wants to unleash 00:01:59.609 --> 00:02:04.849 power into your impossible situation. There's 00:02:04.849 --> 00:02:08.879 five specific questions that I begin to ask and 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:11.460 answer about how you understand breakthrough 00:02:11.460 --> 00:02:13.960 happens, where it begins, what's the first step. 00:02:14.060 --> 00:02:16.639 Now, question number one, you know, you're going 00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:18.879 to have to start with the basics is, so what 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:21.259 is a breakthrough? I mean, God is speaking to 00:02:21.259 --> 00:02:22.979 me and I'm thinking, I literally looked it up 00:02:22.979 --> 00:02:24.900 in the dictionary. I mean, what do you mean by 00:02:24.900 --> 00:02:27.879 the term? Three key definitions. Number one, 00:02:27.960 --> 00:02:30.699 it's an offensive thrust that penetrates and 00:02:30.699 --> 00:02:36.419 carries beyond a defensive line in warfare. thought 00:02:36.419 --> 00:02:39.419 about breakthrough, honestly. I often keep thinking, 00:02:39.539 --> 00:02:41.740 you know, I've read about it in church history 00:02:41.740 --> 00:02:44.520 and I've seen it in the Bible. Someday, someway, 00:02:44.659 --> 00:02:47.659 God, and we're going to see these amazing things 00:02:47.659 --> 00:02:50.699 happen and we're going to watch a breakthrough. 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:54.159 And sort of it's like we wait for it to happen. 00:02:55.639 --> 00:02:58.180 Breakthroughs are not something you sit around 00:02:58.180 --> 00:03:02.259 and wait for. It's an offensive strike through 00:03:02.259 --> 00:03:06.990 enemy lines. God does it. but he's already commanded 00:03:06.990 --> 00:03:09.650 it. He already wants it to happen. A breakthrough 00:03:09.650 --> 00:03:13.370 is when you take an offensive step and say, I'm 00:03:13.370 --> 00:03:16.050 going to act on what I believe is true, and then 00:03:16.050 --> 00:03:18.050 I'm going to trust God is supernaturally going 00:03:18.050 --> 00:03:21.889 to do the impossible. The second is it's an act 00:03:21.889 --> 00:03:26.409 or instance of breaking through a barrier. A 00:03:26.409 --> 00:03:28.110 breakthrough is that there's a barrier. You're 00:03:28.110 --> 00:03:30.129 stuck, and it could be a relationship, an addiction, 00:03:30.349 --> 00:03:33.169 a lie, a false belief. It could be what you've 00:03:33.169 --> 00:03:36.229 been through. It could be an environment at work. 00:03:38.930 --> 00:03:41.909 But isn't it interesting that Jesus said, I will 00:03:41.909 --> 00:03:45.830 build my church and the gates of hell will not 00:03:45.830 --> 00:03:49.250 prevail against it. What was he saying? He says 00:03:49.250 --> 00:03:51.849 the church is moving offensively and when it 00:03:51.849 --> 00:03:54.969 hit barriers, here's the promise. I will be with 00:03:54.969 --> 00:03:57.650 you always and all power is given to me. You 00:03:57.650 --> 00:04:01.469 believe, you trust, we'll break through. So we 00:04:01.469 --> 00:04:04.250 know this is on God's heart. The third definition 00:04:04.250 --> 00:04:06.409 that was interesting, it's a sudden advance. 00:04:07.990 --> 00:04:10.629 There's a process, and we'll walk through the 00:04:10.629 --> 00:04:13.870 process. And there's investment, and there's 00:04:13.870 --> 00:04:16.250 prayer involved, and there's people involved, 00:04:16.350 --> 00:04:19.009 and there's thinking involved. And there's some 00:04:19.009 --> 00:04:22.850 steps that you take. But as those things culminate, 00:04:22.850 --> 00:04:26.079 there's change, there's differences. Failure 00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:29.560 in relationships and addictions. God moves in 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:32.319 powerful ways, and what people experience, boom, 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:34.660 there's a breakthrough. There's a sudden advance. 00:04:35.160 --> 00:04:38.040 It happens in individuals, relationships, organizations, 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:42.620 in churches, and sometimes God does it in whole 00:04:42.620 --> 00:04:46.319 societies and cultures. I love the quote by George 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:48.160 Mueller. He said, remember today that you can 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:50.660 never bring about the supernatural through natural 00:04:50.660 --> 00:04:54.660 means. Don't even try. And then Mueller, who, 00:04:55.209 --> 00:04:59.129 never made his needs known, and supplied the 00:04:59.129 --> 00:05:02.290 needs of literally thousands and thousands of 00:05:02.290 --> 00:05:05.110 orphans daily wrote, faith doesn't operate in 00:05:05.110 --> 00:05:07.209 the realm of the possible. There is no glory 00:05:07.209 --> 00:05:10.649 for God in that which man can do. Faith begins 00:05:10.649 --> 00:05:15.889 where man's power ends. And so part of what we're 00:05:15.889 --> 00:05:18.870 going to talk about is how does that happen? 00:05:18.910 --> 00:05:23.629 How do you unleash? God's supernatural power 00:05:23.629 --> 00:05:27.569 in your life and in your home and in your relationships 00:05:27.569 --> 00:05:30.750 and in your neighborhood and in your work. And 00:05:30.750 --> 00:05:33.089 what and how does God release that in a church? 00:05:34.649 --> 00:05:36.810 Well, that's what breakthrough is. Question number 00:05:36.810 --> 00:05:40.149 two, is there a biblical pattern for breakthrough? 00:05:40.509 --> 00:05:43.050 In other words, these are kind of interesting 00:05:43.050 --> 00:05:44.949 ideas, but I don't know about you. I'm sort of 00:05:44.949 --> 00:05:47.730 committed to Scripture. Is there a biblical pattern? 00:05:47.790 --> 00:05:51.189 And so what I did, And by the way, I'll spare 00:05:51.189 --> 00:05:53.889 you. I won't go through it. I found myself on 00:05:53.889 --> 00:05:57.689 a plane asking that question, and I started about 00:05:57.689 --> 00:06:00.810 three hours earlier, and I started writing from 00:06:00.810 --> 00:06:03.810 memory from Genesis all the way through Revelation 00:06:03.810 --> 00:06:07.250 of breakthroughs that I saw, breakthroughs that 00:06:07.250 --> 00:06:10.250 I saw, breakthroughs that I saw. And I started 00:06:10.250 --> 00:06:13.209 even with, you know, God could have spoke one 00:06:13.209 --> 00:06:15.329 word, and bam, we would have all creation. He 00:06:15.329 --> 00:06:17.879 made it. He can do it any way He wants. But even 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:22.600 how God did creation gives us insight about his 00:06:22.600 --> 00:06:25.100 heart and what he wants to do. Because when we 00:06:25.100 --> 00:06:27.699 get creation in the beginning, he doesn't just 00:06:27.699 --> 00:06:30.660 tell us how it all happened. He creates and he 00:06:30.660 --> 00:06:33.040 says the earth is formless and void. Those are 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:35.860 very interesting Hebrew words that mean lifeless, 00:06:35.939 --> 00:06:39.060 dead. Later they're used in places where there's 00:06:39.060 --> 00:06:41.779 chaos, lack of life. And then what happens? He 00:06:41.779 --> 00:06:44.629 speaks. And when he speaks, let there be light, 00:06:44.689 --> 00:06:47.529 it's good. Let there be plants, it's good. He 00:06:47.529 --> 00:06:49.709 speaks, he speaks, he speaks. It's good, it's 00:06:49.709 --> 00:06:51.529 good, it's good, it's good, it's good, it's good. 00:06:51.649 --> 00:06:56.550 And then he creates us, it's very good. He breaks 00:06:56.550 --> 00:07:00.209 through darkness. There's a reason he tells us 00:07:00.209 --> 00:07:02.949 because that's the pattern. Everything in life, 00:07:03.029 --> 00:07:08.009 mark this, every single thing in life is either 00:07:08.490 --> 00:07:11.790 broken and deteriorating and moving toward chaos, 00:07:11.910 --> 00:07:17.149 or it's moving toward health and restoration 00:07:17.149 --> 00:07:22.329 and healing. Everything. And the eyes of the 00:07:22.329 --> 00:07:24.629 Lord are going to and fro throughout the whole 00:07:24.629 --> 00:07:28.329 earth that he could find a man or a woman or 00:07:28.329 --> 00:07:32.589 a student whose heart is fully his so that he 00:07:32.589 --> 00:07:36.250 could strongly support you. Just where you're 00:07:36.250 --> 00:07:39.629 at, right where you live, with the IQ and the 00:07:39.629 --> 00:07:41.629 gifts and the background and the experiences, 00:07:41.649 --> 00:07:44.050 both good and bad, that you presently possess 00:07:44.050 --> 00:07:47.509 so that he could use you as an agent of breakthrough 00:07:47.509 --> 00:07:50.930 to stop the darkness and the chaos and the corruption 00:07:50.930 --> 00:07:53.589 and the wickedness and to bring light and healing 00:07:53.589 --> 00:07:58.269 and love. That's the game plan. Well, I went 00:07:58.269 --> 00:08:01.209 through the, actually the whole Bible and I wrote 00:08:01.209 --> 00:08:05.379 for three hours. Here's what I can tell you, 00:08:05.399 --> 00:08:07.540 just in terms of, does God unleash supernatural 00:08:07.540 --> 00:08:10.920 power to overcome the impossible? Well, once 00:08:10.920 --> 00:08:13.199 you get beyond the amazing story of creation, 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:16.699 and then you see the drift, the idolatry, the 00:08:16.699 --> 00:08:20.540 evil, the wickedness, then one man finds favor 00:08:20.540 --> 00:08:23.500 named Noah, and he's an agent of breakthrough. 00:08:24.740 --> 00:08:30.980 And God protects, intervenes. And then he, after 00:08:30.980 --> 00:08:35.360 the... Human race begins to get rebuilt. He finds 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:39.100 Abraham. And the process of Abraham becoming 00:08:39.100 --> 00:08:41.759 the beginning of a nation that would be the jewel 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:43.779 that God would demonstrate his power and his 00:08:43.779 --> 00:08:46.779 goodness. And his plan is always, I love people, 00:08:46.919 --> 00:08:48.860 I love people, I love people, I love people. 00:08:49.019 --> 00:08:51.039 He wanted to be with us in the garden and walk 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:53.500 with us in the garden. He forgave Adam and Eve 00:08:53.500 --> 00:08:55.779 and then over and over and over. But the hearts 00:08:55.779 --> 00:08:59.549 of men. We just bend and drift away from God 00:08:59.549 --> 00:09:02.149 and we end up corrupt and greedy and selfish 00:09:02.149 --> 00:09:05.210 and hurting one another. Wars have always been 00:09:05.210 --> 00:09:08.289 with us and God keeps intervening. And so with 00:09:08.289 --> 00:09:11.950 Abraham, he's 100 years old, living off a promise 00:09:11.950 --> 00:09:14.129 that he's going to have an heir one day. And 00:09:14.129 --> 00:09:21.049 so his 90 -year -old babe has a baby. It's a 00:09:21.049 --> 00:09:22.990 breakthrough. Would you say that's unleashing 00:09:22.990 --> 00:09:25.620 God's power into the impossible? And then after 00:09:25.620 --> 00:09:27.840 Abraham, you find that there's desolation and 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:30.940 famine and difficulty. And so, a Hebrew slave 00:09:30.940 --> 00:09:33.980 becomes the most powerful man in the world under 00:09:33.980 --> 00:09:36.600 Pharaoh. To do what? Break through and deliver 00:09:36.600 --> 00:09:40.460 the people. 430 years later, now they're in bondage 00:09:40.460 --> 00:09:42.279 and slavery, and there's an idol on every corner 00:09:42.279 --> 00:09:45.000 in Egypt. And what happens? He brings Moses to 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:48.840 do the impossible. Ten supernatural acts, each 00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:52.000 one declaring Yahweh, the God of Israel, more 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:54.679 powerful than the gods of Egypt. And then there's 00:09:54.679 --> 00:09:56.419 a breakthrough at the Red Sea, and then there's 00:09:56.419 --> 00:09:57.820 a breakthrough with the man, and then there's 00:09:57.820 --> 00:09:59.539 a breakthrough with water out of the rock, and 00:09:59.539 --> 00:10:01.120 there's a breakthrough where his presence is 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:05.000 with him. And then Joshua comes along, and this 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:07.639 is the land. I've already given it to you. You 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:10.679 possess it. I'm good. I love you. I want you 00:10:10.679 --> 00:10:12.860 to have vines that you didn't plant and wells 00:10:12.860 --> 00:10:14.980 that you didn't dig and houses that you don't 00:10:14.980 --> 00:10:17.600 have to build. You're my people. I love you, 00:10:17.639 --> 00:10:19.700 and I want to bless you and express that to you. 00:10:20.590 --> 00:10:22.529 But there's a lot of big guys over there and 00:10:22.529 --> 00:10:24.950 there's this big walled city and so impossibility, 00:10:25.090 --> 00:10:29.509 the walls fall down. And we go all the way through 00:10:29.509 --> 00:10:33.789 Scripture to these cycles. Here's the cycles 00:10:33.789 --> 00:10:35.789 that you see because it becomes very clear in 00:10:35.789 --> 00:10:38.830 Judges and all the way through the Old Testament, 00:10:38.990 --> 00:10:40.950 later through the New Testament and New Church 00:10:40.950 --> 00:10:44.830 history is there's great need and the great need 00:10:44.830 --> 00:10:49.090 is caused by great sin. So people are hurting. 00:10:49.659 --> 00:10:52.059 People are discouraged. People have problems. 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:56.779 The great sin brings about bondage. People are 00:10:56.779 --> 00:10:59.279 in slavery. And sometimes it's whole nations 00:10:59.279 --> 00:11:01.340 or sometimes it's individuals. They're slaves 00:11:01.340 --> 00:11:04.600 to their sin, slaves to corrupt government, slavery 00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:07.559 and bondage, the sex trade. I mean, you can go 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:10.500 all through history, this pattern. And then this 00:11:10.500 --> 00:11:13.639 God who created us loves you and loves these 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:16.200 people. As far away as anyone has ever been from 00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:18.679 God, he still loves them and he's compassionate. 00:11:19.529 --> 00:11:21.429 And judgment occurs. And by judgment, what I 00:11:21.429 --> 00:11:24.149 mean, consequences come to help us understand, 00:11:24.210 --> 00:11:26.490 you know what? How we're living is not the way 00:11:26.490 --> 00:11:29.850 to live. It's in the great kindness and love 00:11:29.850 --> 00:11:32.750 of God that the velvet vice begins to come on 00:11:32.750 --> 00:11:35.450 nations at times in the past. And it comes on 00:11:35.450 --> 00:11:38.669 people. And this judgment of things don't work. 00:11:38.830 --> 00:11:41.149 And then he raises up a deliverer who breaks 00:11:41.149 --> 00:11:45.769 through. A deliverer who is like a Samson or 00:11:45.769 --> 00:11:49.379 a Gideon or a Deborah. and then later a Samuel. 00:11:49.740 --> 00:11:52.159 And cycle after cycle, this cycle right here 00:11:52.159 --> 00:11:54.139 happens at least six times in the book of Judges. 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:57.539 And I would tell you that it happens the rest 00:11:57.539 --> 00:12:00.100 of the Old Testament, New Testament, and church 00:12:00.100 --> 00:12:04.299 history. You're listening to Living on the Edge 00:12:04.299 --> 00:12:06.820 with Chip Ingram. We'll hear more from Chip in 00:12:06.820 --> 00:12:09.440 just a moment. If you've missed any part of this 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:11.259 message, or if you'd like to share it with a 00:12:11.259 --> 00:12:14.840 friend, you can find it anytime online at Living 00:12:14.840 --> 00:12:18.450 on the Edge. And while you're there, you'll also 00:12:18.450 --> 00:12:21.149 discover a full library of Chip's teaching series, 00:12:21.370 --> 00:12:24.509 small group resources, and practical tools to 00:12:24.509 --> 00:12:26.850 help you grow in your faith. It's all waiting 00:12:26.850 --> 00:12:30.889 for you at livingontheedge .org. Now let's get 00:12:30.889 --> 00:12:48.379 back to today's message. Supernatural power of 00:12:48.379 --> 00:12:51.159 God reminding you that the walls that you have 00:12:51.159 --> 00:12:54.639 can come down. The giants that you face, the 00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:58.519 unleashing of God's power like with David, they 00:12:58.519 --> 00:13:02.039 can fall just like they fell for him. And then 00:13:02.039 --> 00:13:04.379 you have a series of horrendous times where all 00:13:04.379 --> 00:13:08.340 these kings turn away from God and yet then Josiah 00:13:08.340 --> 00:13:11.440 pops up and Hezekiah pops up and Asa pops up 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:13.940 and they start reforms and every time there's 00:13:13.940 --> 00:13:16.039 a reform there's a breakthrough and there's prosperity 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:17.960 and there's love and there's fellowship and God 00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:19.840 is worshipped and then people drift away again 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:25.299 and we get 400 years of silence. The greatest 00:13:25.299 --> 00:13:26.960 judgment in all the world is when you can't hear 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:30.740 God's voice anymore. And then the ultimate breakthrough. 00:13:31.480 --> 00:13:33.799 We're talking about the pattern. We're going 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:36.399 to look at the pathway. And part of the pathway, 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:38.519 there are certain seasons where God prepares 00:13:38.519 --> 00:13:40.679 people and certain seasons where he prepares 00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:43.679 organizations and certain seasons where he prepares 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:48.480 the entire world for major breakthroughs. And 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:52.039 what we have in Jesus is the greatest breakthrough. 00:13:52.860 --> 00:13:56.360 God's supernatural power unleashed. Open your 00:13:56.360 --> 00:13:58.820 Bible if you will. Mark chapter 1. And what I 00:13:58.820 --> 00:14:00.700 encourage you to do is read. I'm going to give 00:14:00.700 --> 00:14:02.980 you sort of mountain peaks. I'm going to walk 00:14:02.980 --> 00:14:05.240 through some mountain peaks because here's what 00:14:05.240 --> 00:14:07.240 I want you to see. So often we start reading, 00:14:07.299 --> 00:14:09.299 and many of us have been Christians for a lot 00:14:09.299 --> 00:14:10.980 of years, and this is Jesus, and this is what 00:14:10.980 --> 00:14:13.799 he said. And sometimes we miss the whole point. 00:14:14.179 --> 00:14:17.820 The very first verse of the book of Mark, this 00:14:17.820 --> 00:14:22.019 is the beginning of the good news, the gospel 00:14:22.019 --> 00:14:26.470 of Jesus Christ. It's about God's goodness. It's 00:14:26.470 --> 00:14:29.509 about God's not down on people. The word good 00:14:29.509 --> 00:14:31.610 news, it wasn't a Bible term. It was borrowed 00:14:31.610 --> 00:14:34.370 from the day. When a king would go to battle 00:14:34.370 --> 00:14:36.649 and win a victory, they would make an announcement. 00:14:37.129 --> 00:14:39.129 Good news. They would have a gospel announcement. 00:14:39.769 --> 00:14:43.129 Our king defeated that other group, and all the 00:14:43.129 --> 00:14:46.929 people would celebrate. We're free. The gospel 00:14:46.929 --> 00:14:48.529 was an announcement. Now, here's what I want 00:14:48.529 --> 00:14:50.950 to do. I'm going to walk you through a little 00:14:50.950 --> 00:14:53.169 journey, and I'm going to skip around a lot. 00:14:54.029 --> 00:14:56.629 Because what I really want you to see is how 00:14:56.629 --> 00:15:00.549 did Jesus, are you ready for this? How did Jesus 00:15:00.549 --> 00:15:04.730 teach his disciples to experience breakthrough? 00:15:05.370 --> 00:15:08.289 If you're taking notes, the first question was, 00:15:08.429 --> 00:15:11.590 what is breakthrough? The second question was, 00:15:11.710 --> 00:15:13.830 is there a biblical pattern of breakthrough? 00:15:13.970 --> 00:15:16.570 And I think we've demonstrated that. The third 00:15:16.570 --> 00:15:21.850 question, how did Jesus teach the disciples to 00:15:21.850 --> 00:15:25.379 experience and be agents? of breakthrough. Now, 00:15:25.419 --> 00:15:27.080 you'll notice I've already quoted the very first 00:15:27.080 --> 00:15:29.820 verse. This is the beginning of the gospel. It's 00:15:29.820 --> 00:15:31.379 written to the Romans. You need to understand 00:15:31.379 --> 00:15:33.320 the Roman mindset. They're powerful. They're 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:36.840 proud. They respect action and power. And so, 00:15:36.860 --> 00:15:39.620 this gospel writer doesn't spend a lot of time 00:15:39.620 --> 00:15:41.899 in genealogies, not a lot of time of quoting, 00:15:42.019 --> 00:15:44.779 you know, Hebrew fulfillment. I mean, he comes 00:15:44.779 --> 00:15:48.360 out of the gates, Jesus, the man of action. And 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:51.480 so, A relatively few verses, we have his introduction, 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:55.059 his baptism, and his temptation. And then notice 00:15:55.059 --> 00:15:57.000 as you pick it up in verse 14, after John was 00:15:57.000 --> 00:16:00.519 put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee. His ministry 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:02.659 starts. Notice what he does. This is what Jesus 00:16:02.659 --> 00:16:05.299 came to do. He did not come to get people to 00:16:05.299 --> 00:16:07.360 live moral lives. He did not come to give them 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:10.480 a philosophy or worldview or to become a good 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:12.659 religion on the salad bar of other religions. 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:17.360 He came to proclaim the good news of God. He 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:19.879 came to make an announcement. The God who made 00:16:19.879 --> 00:16:23.159 you loves you. He wants to bless you. He's for 00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:26.059 you. He wants intimate fellowship and relationship. 00:16:26.899 --> 00:16:29.580 The time has come, he said. The kingdom of God 00:16:29.580 --> 00:16:33.200 is near. And then there's a command. It's twofold. 00:16:33.779 --> 00:16:38.279 Repent and believe the good news. Repent. It 00:16:38.279 --> 00:16:41.100 means with your mind. Have a change of mind. 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:43.919 Think differently about God. Think differently 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:46.299 about yourself and start thinking about it the 00:16:46.299 --> 00:16:49.860 way God thinks about it and believe the good 00:16:49.860 --> 00:16:54.019 news. Believe that God's for you. Believe that 00:16:54.019 --> 00:16:56.340 he loves you and live out of the freedom and 00:16:56.340 --> 00:16:58.980 the reality. The gospel is not what can I do 00:16:58.980 --> 00:17:01.659 for God? How can I earn his favor? The gospel 00:17:01.659 --> 00:17:05.279 is good news. This is what God has already done 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:09.460 for you. Receive it, believe it, let it fill 00:17:09.460 --> 00:17:12.220 you up, and then out of thanksgiving and love, 00:17:12.339 --> 00:17:16.119 express that same kind of love to others. Now 00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:17.920 with that said, how did he teach his disciples? 00:17:18.500 --> 00:17:20.799 I mean, you think about it. The creator of all 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:25.380 of life decides to inhabit a teenage girl supernaturally, 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:29.940 lives a perfect life, begins his ministry, and 00:17:29.940 --> 00:17:32.619 this is the message, this announcement. So what 00:17:32.619 --> 00:17:34.440 does he do? And here's what I want you to see 00:17:34.440 --> 00:17:37.420 as I walk things through. He wanted to teach 00:17:37.420 --> 00:17:41.579 these good Jewish religious boys that he didn't 00:17:41.579 --> 00:17:45.819 come to change the culture. He came for people 00:17:45.819 --> 00:17:49.519 to move out of their stuck religion and the wickedness 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:52.839 of the day and to have a relationship with the 00:17:52.839 --> 00:17:55.819 living God. And so he announced what it was. 00:17:56.279 --> 00:17:58.799 And then as you look at the book of Mark, what 00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:01.839 I want you to see, his goodness, his goodness, 00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:06.029 his kindness. And he's kind and good to people 00:18:06.029 --> 00:18:09.230 in that day that religious people would say don't 00:18:09.230 --> 00:18:12.609 deserve anything. The religious system of Judaism, 00:18:12.630 --> 00:18:15.049 and especially the Pharisees, is we earn our 00:18:15.049 --> 00:18:17.190 favor, we're more righteous. In fact, they were 00:18:17.190 --> 00:18:19.750 just self -righteous. So as you pick it up, notice, 00:18:19.910 --> 00:18:22.009 okay, he's going to announce the good news. Skip 00:18:22.009 --> 00:18:23.690 down, if you will, to verse 21. Then he went 00:18:23.690 --> 00:18:26.130 to Capernaum. And the Sabbath came, and Jesus 00:18:26.130 --> 00:18:28.329 went into the synagogue, and he began to teach. 00:18:28.450 --> 00:18:30.150 And the people were amazed at his teaching because 00:18:30.150 --> 00:18:32.269 he taught them as one who had authority, not 00:18:32.269 --> 00:18:35.990 as the teachers of law. And there was a man in 00:18:35.990 --> 00:18:38.490 the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit. 00:18:39.130 --> 00:18:42.089 What do you want to do with me? The first thing 00:18:42.089 --> 00:18:46.130 he does is eradicate evil. He's, quote, in the 00:18:46.130 --> 00:18:48.349 church of their day, and there's a guy demon 00:18:48.349 --> 00:18:51.789 -possessed. He casts out the demon. So there's 00:18:51.789 --> 00:18:54.410 sort of some authentication. Whoa. Who is this 00:18:54.410 --> 00:18:57.029 guy? The next thing he does, as you skim, look 00:18:57.029 --> 00:18:59.849 at verse 29, he goes over to Peter's mother -in 00:18:59.849 --> 00:19:02.690 -law's house and she's sick. And people are wondering, 00:19:02.769 --> 00:19:06.250 wow, who is this guy? And he heals her. And then 00:19:06.250 --> 00:19:08.309 if you skim down a little bit after that, what 00:19:08.309 --> 00:19:11.769 you find is there's a real buzz here and he spends 00:19:11.769 --> 00:19:14.329 almost all night and the whole town comes out. 00:19:14.369 --> 00:19:17.049 He casts out demons and heals, casts out demons 00:19:17.049 --> 00:19:19.690 and heals, casts out demons and heals. I mean, 00:19:19.769 --> 00:19:22.630 it is like a rock concert starts and he is like, 00:19:22.670 --> 00:19:24.920 whoo. And people are coming from everywhere. 00:19:25.740 --> 00:19:28.000 And then he gets up real early the next morning 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:30.440 to pray, to stay focused. And the disciples say, 00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:33.700 Jesus, last night you were a super hit. Everyone's 00:19:33.700 --> 00:19:35.579 talking about you. This is going to be awesome. 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:38.599 Come on back. And he says, no, no, no, no. I'm 00:19:38.599 --> 00:19:41.119 on mission. There's many other villages and places 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:43.880 I need to go. So he teaches the disciples it 00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:45.900 can't be about them. It can't be about us. It 00:19:45.900 --> 00:19:47.940 can't be about just now. It's fulfilling what 00:19:47.940 --> 00:19:51.619 God wants. And so notice then he begins a preaching 00:19:51.619 --> 00:19:54.630 tour. And in chapter two, what's he do? He heals 00:19:54.630 --> 00:19:57.289 a paralytic. I mean, in that day, people thought, 00:19:57.329 --> 00:19:58.670 you're paralyzed? You must have done something 00:19:58.670 --> 00:20:02.069 wrong. It's the old bad karma. So he starts out 00:20:02.069 --> 00:20:08.829 healing people, declaring war on demons. Then 00:20:08.829 --> 00:20:11.450 he heals this paralytic. And then in the end 00:20:11.450 --> 00:20:14.910 of two and the early part of three, he calls 00:20:14.910 --> 00:20:17.890 the disciples, deals with some theological issues. 00:20:18.150 --> 00:20:20.750 And then chapter three, notice, he went into 00:20:20.750 --> 00:20:23.630 a synagogue again. And there's a man with a shriveled 00:20:23.630 --> 00:20:26.049 hand. His popularity is mushrooming. And now 00:20:26.049 --> 00:20:28.910 the Pharisees are jealous. And so here's someone 00:20:28.910 --> 00:20:31.490 now. If you have a shriveled hand, you're unclean. 00:20:33.029 --> 00:20:35.450 You don't measure up. And they wanted to see, 00:20:35.529 --> 00:20:38.549 what's he going to do? And what's he do? He speaks, 00:20:38.650 --> 00:20:41.130 doesn't even touch him. He speaks, and the man 00:20:41.130 --> 00:20:43.890 is healed. Afterwards, the Pharisees, the religious 00:20:43.890 --> 00:20:46.299 people, are plotting how to kill him. Then the 00:20:46.299 --> 00:20:48.319 crowds followed Jesus. Skip down, if you will, 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:50.740 verse 9 of chapter 3. It says, because of the 00:20:50.740 --> 00:20:52.980 crowds, he told the disciples to have a small 00:20:52.980 --> 00:20:55.339 boat ready for him to keep the people from crowding 00:20:55.339 --> 00:20:59.160 him, for he had healed many so that those with 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:02.420 diseases were pushing forward to touch him. What's 00:21:02.420 --> 00:21:04.920 the message? It's a new preacher, and you say 00:21:04.920 --> 00:21:07.059 to yourself, what's he doing? He just keeps healing 00:21:07.059 --> 00:21:09.059 people and healing people and touching people 00:21:09.059 --> 00:21:10.960 and touching people that no one thinks is worth 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:14.740 anything. It's good news. This isn't measuring 00:21:14.740 --> 00:21:18.009 up. He just keeps loving people. And if you're 00:21:18.009 --> 00:21:19.789 one of his early Jewish boys, disciples, you're 00:21:19.789 --> 00:21:22.589 going, this is really different. And did you 00:21:22.589 --> 00:21:25.349 notice? It's not about how many services they 00:21:25.349 --> 00:21:27.430 have or how many buildings they're building. 00:21:27.549 --> 00:21:32.619 What is it? It's his power. The world today doesn't 00:21:32.619 --> 00:21:34.599 need to see more church buildings or more services 00:21:34.599 --> 00:21:37.799 or our numbers increase for that sake. They need 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:41.599 to see the power of God in you and in me, in 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:43.759 our homes, in our work, in our neighborhood, 00:21:43.880 --> 00:21:48.259 unleashing the power that does good. That's the 00:21:48.259 --> 00:21:50.740 gospel. And that's what he wants to teach them. 00:21:53.259 --> 00:21:55.900 This is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. 00:21:56.180 --> 00:21:58.660 Today, we heard how God has a proven pattern 00:21:58.660 --> 00:22:01.480 throughout history of unleashing His power into 00:22:01.480 --> 00:22:04.720 impossible situations. And friends, that pattern 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:07.140 hasn't stopped. We'll hear more from Chip in 00:22:07.140 --> 00:22:09.960 just a moment, so stick around. As you think 00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:11.980 about the breakthrough you need in your own life, 00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:14.279 I want to tell you about a powerful resource 00:22:14.279 --> 00:22:17.000 that can help you build spiritual strength for 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:20.180 the journey ahead. It's a free 10 -day devotional 00:22:20.180 --> 00:22:23.700 series from Chip called Psalms of Hope. You'll 00:22:23.700 --> 00:22:26.039 learn how to study these ancient songs of hope, 00:22:26.180 --> 00:22:29.200 discovering spiritual truths that can sustain 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:31.880 you through life's darkest moments. Whether you're 00:22:31.880 --> 00:22:34.720 feeling let down by God, shaken by circumstances, 00:22:35.119 --> 00:22:37.500 or just need fresh assurance of His promises, 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:40.259 these psalms will meet you right where you are. 00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:43.480 Psalms of Hope is completely free and available 00:22:43.480 --> 00:22:47.720 right now at livingontheedge .org. Just look 00:22:47.720 --> 00:22:50.420 for Psalms of Hope and start building that daily 00:22:50.420 --> 00:22:54.210 habit of study. contemplation, and prayer. Resources 00:22:54.210 --> 00:22:56.869 like Psalms of Hope are made possible by listeners 00:22:56.869 --> 00:22:59.029 who believe in what God is doing through this 00:22:59.029 --> 00:23:01.589 ministry. When you support Living on the Edge, 00:23:01.730 --> 00:23:03.950 you're helping others discover the same life 00:23:03.950 --> 00:23:06.890 -changing truths that are impacting you. Would 00:23:06.890 --> 00:23:10.269 you join us today? Give online at livingontheedge 00:23:10.269 --> 00:23:13.470 .org or send your gift to Living on the Edge, 00:23:13.509 --> 00:23:19.359 P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta, Georgia, 30024. You 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:24.720 can also call 888 -333 -6003 and be sure to subscribe 00:23:24.720 --> 00:23:27.420 to the Living on the Edge podcast. It's available 00:23:27.420 --> 00:23:31.039 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other major 00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:33.940 podcast platforms. Well, now here's Chip with 00:23:33.940 --> 00:23:37.279 a final thought on today's topic. As we close 00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:40.380 today's program, here's what I know. Everybody 00:23:40.380 --> 00:23:44.319 wants and needs a breakthrough in some area of 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:46.519 their life. And so here's what I want you to 00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:48.359 do. I want you to just think in your mind, in 00:23:48.359 --> 00:23:52.500 your heart, what do you long to see God do in 00:23:52.500 --> 00:23:55.380 your life? I mean, instead of the status quo, 00:23:55.519 --> 00:23:57.500 the way it's always been, certain things that 00:23:57.500 --> 00:24:00.720 you've accepted, they're just going to be the 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:04.940 way they're going to be. What one area, if God 00:24:04.940 --> 00:24:08.920 would choose to pour out supernatural dynamic 00:24:08.920 --> 00:24:13.019 power that would literally change things, impossible 00:24:13.019 --> 00:24:17.000 things. What would that one thing be? And all 00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:20.779 I want you to do today is to identify it. And 00:24:20.779 --> 00:24:22.559 then I want you to sort of in your mind's eye, 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:24.500 bring it to God and say, Lord, maybe I don't 00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:26.279 even have enough faith to believe that you could 00:24:26.279 --> 00:24:29.380 act in this area, but I want to go on this journey 00:24:29.380 --> 00:24:31.700 and I'm going to ask you, would you increase 00:24:31.700 --> 00:24:35.279 my faith? And then let me encourage you, be with 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:37.519 us for our next broadcast. And if you happen 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:40.940 to miss, get online and stay with me this whole 00:24:40.940 --> 00:24:43.119 series. I think God's going to do something special 00:24:43.119 --> 00:24:45.990 in your life. How did Jesus teach his disciples 00:24:45.990 --> 00:24:48.809 to experience breakthrough? I'm Dave Drewley, 00:24:48.869 --> 00:24:51.529 inviting you to find out tomorrow on Living on 00:24:51.529 --> 00:24:57.130 the Edge. Today's program is produced and sponsored 00:24:57.130 --> 00:24:58.670 by Living on the Edge.