What is Jesus calling you to? - TSC Cincinnati

Mark 3 places Jesus on a mountain, and mountains are moments. Mount Sinai carried the voice, handwriting, power, and glory of God, and Mark’s mountain carries that same kind of holy shift. The mountain becomes the place where momentum changes, where Jesus comes apart from the normal rhythm of life, hears the Father, and moves into the next assignment. The life that is falling apart may need to come apart, because even the sinless Son of God sought the Father in the quiet place.

Jesus calls the ones he desires. That word matters. Jesus is not merely gathering workers or recruiting religious talent. Jesus desires relationship. The crowd can come and see, but the twelve are called into the core, into apprenticeship, into discipleship. A disciple is a learner, a resident in training, someone who links life to another life and learns the way. Jesus calls these men “so that they might be with him,” and that is the first purpose of the call before preaching, power, or mission ever enters the picture.

Discipleship means being with Jesus in a real, simple, daily way. The life of prayer begins by calling out, emptying the mind before God, and inviting the Spirit to speak. The life of Scripture syncs up with the voice of God, because the best way to hear God is through the word of God. The life of obedience transfers it over, writing down what God has said, archiving his faithfulness, and letting the journal call a believer “on the carpet” where obedience has stalled.

Discipleship also refuses isolation. A “personal relationship with Jesus” works best in community with other people. Mature believers reach a hand back like Paul to Timothy, inviting younger believers into whole-life discipleship. Bonhoeffer’s open home shows that real discipleship requires two-way vulnerability, being fully known and fully loved at the same time.

Jesus also sends those who have been with him. Peter and John become so affected by Jesus that religious leaders recognize them as men who “had been with Jesus.” The heart of Jesus came from the mouth of Jesus, and their lives could not stop speaking what they had seen and heard. Jesus gives authority, not to hoard power, but to make ordinary Christians channels through which God’s power touches others. The twelve were not varsity Christians. Peter crumbled, James and John chased glory, and Judas betrayed him. Still, Jesus used normal, weak, imperfect people. The call lands in surrender, because peace, meaning, fulfillment, and power in the Spirit sit on the other side of obedience.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Come apart before falling apart The mountain in Mark is not just scenery, it is the place where Jesus gets alone with the Father and receives direction. If even the sinless Son of God came apart from the noise, then a hurried, anxious, heavy soul should not treat solitude with God as optional. A life that keeps unraveling may not need more control first, but a quiet place where the voice of God can be heard again. [08:45]
• 2. Jesus desires real relationship The word “desired” pushes the call deeper than religious duty or spiritual performance. Jesus sees all the sin, all the repeated failures, all the hidden thought life, and still calls people to come to him under the covering of his blood. The call begins with being wanted by Christ before it becomes being useful for Christ. [10:23]
• 3. Discipleship needs actual apprenticeship A disciple is not just someone who knows Christian information, but someone learning a whole way of life beside another believer. The church loses something vital when older or more mature believers stop saying, “Come over here, let me show what following Jesus looks like.” Growth happens where truth is spoken in love and lives are linked closely enough for correction, encouragement, and imitation. [15:13]
• 4. God’s word must get inside A dry well is not fixed by pretending to be full. Scripture may feel clunky at first, like duty and discipline, but time under tension in the word reshapes convictions, desires, and actions. The believer gets into the word until the word gets into the believer, and delight often comes on the far side of steady obedience. [42:48]
• 5. Power flows through surrendered channels Jesus gives authority so that his power can reach somebody else, not so that a believer can hoard spiritual experiences. Every Christian has a unique story, angle, calling, and obedience that may become the channel God uses in another person’s life. The real question is not whether God has power, but whether the believer is available for that power to pass through.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:17] - A Personal Call Into Ministry
• [03:43] - Jesus Calls People Deeper
• [04:52] - Mountains Are Moments
• [07:57] - Come Apart With God
• [10:23] - Jesus Desires Relationship
• [11:55] - What A Disciple Is
• [15:13] - Apprenticeship In The Church
• [18:33] - Called To Be With Jesus
• [21:59] - Call Out In Prayer
• [24:35] - Sync Up With Scripture
• [26:26] - Transfer It Into A Journal
• [32:51] - Discipleship In Vulnerable Community
• [38:17] - Being With Jesus Changes Direction
• [44:10] - Authority As A Channel Of Power
• [52:41] - Ordinary People In God’s Mission
• [55:52] - The Call To Surrender

Bible Reading

Mark 3:13-19
“And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” [04:52]

Acts 4:13
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” [41:24]

Acts 4:19-20
“But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.’” [41:56]

Observation questions

1. In Mark 3:13-15, what are the three things Jesus does with the twelve after going up the mountain?
2. What specific phrase in Mark 3 shows that Jesus’ call begins with relationship before mission? [18:33]
3. In Acts 4:13, what did the religious leaders notice about Peter and John, and what conclusion did they draw from that?
4. What simple pattern was given for spending daily time with Jesus, and what were the three parts of it? [26:26]

Interpretation questions

1. Mark says Jesus called those whom he desired. What does that reveal about the heart of Jesus toward imperfect people who come to him? [10:23]
2. Jesus appointed the twelve “so that they might be with him” before sending them out. Why is that order important for understanding discipleship and ministry? [18:33]
3. Acts 4 shows that Peter and John could not stop speaking about what they had seen and heard. What does that suggest about what happens when someone has truly been with Jesus? [42:08]
4. Jesus gave the twelve authority, but that authority was meant to flow outward to others. What does it mean for a believer to be a channel of God’s power rather than a holder of spiritual experiences? [45:40]

Application questions

1. Jesus came apart to be with the Father. Where is the “mountain” place in this season of life—the chair, car, walk, porch, or quiet corner—where regular time with God could actually happen this week? [08:45]
2. The life that feels like it is falling apart may first need to come apart with God. What has been crowding out quiet time with the Lord lately, and what would it look like to make space for him in a real way this week? [09:06]
3. Being with Jesus can be simple: call out, sync up, and transfer it over. Which of those three feels weakest right now—prayer, Scripture, or writing down what God is saying—and why? [26:26]
4. A journal can expose repeated places of stalled obedience and also preserve God’s faithfulness. Would writing things down help bring clarity in this season, and what might be worth putting on paper first? [29:15]
5. Discipleship works best in community, not isolation. Who is one person that could help speak truth into life right now, or one person who may need that kind of help from you? [37:35]
6. Mature believers are called to reach back, and younger believers are called to ask for help. Which side of that invitation fits this season more closely, and what is one practical next step to act on it? [36:32]
7. Every Christian is a channel through which God wants to reach someone else. Who might be on the other end of simple obedience this week—a child, spouse, coworker, neighbor, or friend—and what would availability to God look like there? [50:57]