Insight for Living

Bill Meyer: There's a difference between believing in Jesus Christ and truly following Him. Most of us have made the first move. But discipleship, that deep daily surrender of your own will, that's another journey altogether. And it costs something.

Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll will identify four truths every sincere follower of Christ needs to hear. Truths not learned in a classroom, but in the crucible of real life. Let's get started as Chuck opens his Bible to John chapter 18 to present a message titled, The Cup That He Drank.

Chuck Swindoll: Turn to John chapter 18, will you do that? John 18. Now, this is a threatening situation here, the setting, verses 1 to 3. They've had the last meal together, Jesus and His followers. The upper room teaching is over. It's not included here.

In fact, it just says in verse 1 of when Jesus had finished these words, no doubt referring to His teaching in that last supper as well as His prayer as He's on His way to the Garden of Gethsemane just before He's taken under arrest. His prayer to the Father is completed. He and His 11 remain together, and they're making their way to the Garden of Gethsemane.

Verse 4, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him. By the way, in the distance He can hear the clatter of the swords and the chains and the sight of the torches flickering in the darkness. Verse 3 concludes they came with lanterns and torches and weapons. Why? They expected a fight.

Look at this surprising surrender. Whom do you seek? Look at this. They say Jesus the Nazarene. He said, "I am He. That's me." Judas was also standing with them, and when He said to them, verse 6, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground. He said to them, "I am He." And so they're picking themselves up off the ground.

And so He says to them, helping them back up, "Let me help you up there. Whom do you seek?" Jesus the Nazarene. "I am He. I'm the one. And since I'm the one, let these others go their way. Release them." Now, Simon Peter, don't you love these little vignettes when Simon shows up? Give me that sword.

And what he does, he takes one of these little two-edged swords, one that appears on the front of the Bible here, this machaira, and lifts it over his head and comes down on a helmet and he severs an ear. Peter, don't do that kind of thing. You know why he did it? Because he's not a disciple.

You fight your own battles in the flesh, you do things that are stupid, dumb things, rash things, sometimes improper things, because you're not being led deeply by the Lord, you're being led by your own will. I mean, you love my illustrations about this, but when we drive, it kicks in just automatically.

You've been in traffic and you're trying to get there and then some dude pulls in. How many of us go, "Please, not a problem. Come on. Someone else? Yeah, come on." Because if you do that, the guy behind you is going to get in that lane. Why? Because we want to stay in a lane.

I often think we'll almost give up our lives for one space in the traffic lane. It's unbelievable. Why? Because we're selfish. Suddenly you've gotten into real world stuff. Multiply that by a hundred different examples and you know what I'm talking about.

In life, before we cluck our tongues at Peter for cutting off this dude's ear, we've got to realize we've cut off a lot of ears in the flesh. We're good at that. And invariably if our heart is right a little later we regret it, deeply regret it. Jesus seemed like He spends all three and a half years mentoring Peter.

And so He says to Peter, "Put the sword into the sheath." Now, I have the feeling, forgive this if I'm out of bounds here, I don't think He just said, "Peter, please put up the sword." I think He got a little exercised, shall we say. "Put the sword away!"

I learned when I was growing up that when my mother gritted her teeth and called my middle name, not a good time to be alive. And if Peter had a middle name, that's where it came in right there. In fact, He uses it for the great sentence, the question. "The cup the Father has given Me." Look at that. Not the one I came up with.

"The cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?" The cup. The cup. Those are the words of a surrendered will. Had a man say to me following the first service today, "For the first time in as long as I can remember, I'm putting the sword in the sheath." And he cried.

He described his life very briefly, just succinctly as he described a self-willed life. He said, "I'm tired of cutting off ears." Look at Jesus' words: "Put the sword in the sheath, the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?" The cup. The Father's will. It means one thing to one person, something altogether different to someone else.

For me, it meant where I wound up doing what I'm doing. For you, it means something altogether different. You know what? All the way through our ministry lives, Cynthia and I have had people telling us as we were getting ready to make a move to go somewhere else that we shouldn't be doing it.

People are just loaded with misinformation and they can be so logical. I remember when we were leaving Irving to move to California. California! I mean, are you ready for that? There are no good families in California. There are no deep roots in California.

In fact, the last words we heard, a lady put her elbows on the window beside my wife as we're getting ready to back out of our driveway and she said, "You know, the Lord gets blamed for a lot of stuff He has nothing to do with." How's that for a farewell? Have a great ministry.

And we got there and we didn't plan it. I went kicking and screaming. But it's exactly where we ought to have been for as long as we should have been there. In fact, we were there so long I was a part of the woodwork. This is great. This is wonderful. This is easy.

And once the Lord heard the word "easy," the cup. He's good with cups at just the right moment. So I get a call from Dallas Seminary, thinking there's no way. Are you kidding? I've been out here so long they're going to name a street after me one of these days. Easy?

I don't want it to be easy. I want you to be where I want you to be. I mean, back to Dallas? They know me there. But I want to go back to Dallas? You check the weather lately, Lord? So I had people there say, "Why on earth are you going to really tell us what's the real reason? Tell us."

Yeah, people do that too. Like there's somebody with a gun over here who told me he's getting ready to shoot you. Why are you going to be? That's part of doing the Father's will. So I get here and it begins to come clear. Come clear. Easy? Never once. I don't think there's been an easy day. Right? Absolutely.

People see this and they see the growth and they think, "Boy, Chuck, you must be so proud." Are you kidding? I am shocked. I am surprised. I don't worry about empty seats. I'm amazed there are filled seats. Why? Because this isn't about me. You just happen to be witnessing a cup being drunk.

You're seeing a disciple live his life. Forgive the personal references, they're not meant out of pride. I guarantee it's not. If you could know the whole story, you'd know what I'm trying to say. I am in the place of His appointment to do what He wishes, and I've learned the hard way that if I fight it, I lose. And I should.

But this isn't again about me, it's about you. You who are fighting it, this message is about drinking the cup the Father has given you. Let me give you four statements that will be true throughout the rest of your life. I've learned them by being crushed. I learned them in the process of still being crushed.

I pass them on to you out of my own world of hurt, if you will, my own experiences. Get your pen ready. All of you who want to keep your sword in the sheath, take them in very carefully. Write them down. Put them where you'll read them later. You'll need them.

Number one: For every disciple, there is a purpose to be fulfilled. For every disciple, there is a purpose to be fulfilled. When you move from the outer circle to the inner circle, at that time there is a, there are, if not one, there are a few special purposes God has planned for you.

For Peter, it was the early formation of the church. God wasn't through with him. Peter would come to the place where he would finally be broken, having denied his Lord in a public place. And that purpose is a God-given mission. It's a divine plan. It's a mandate. It's a heaven-sent assignment.

That's why He invites you to be a disciple. Until then, you fight the purpose. When you've broken through and you decide I disclaim all lesser loyalties, I'm not going to do what my neighbors think I ought to do, I'm not going to do what my church members are confident I ought to do, I'm not going to do necessarily what my wife is thinking is the best thing to do.

I'm counseling, I'm listening to her, but I've got to do what I believe the Father would have me do. That's a lonely place to be. Why? There's a purpose there. There's a purpose. And when you've got a mate in life that sees that, she or he doesn't resent it. There's a God-given mission. There's a divine plan. There's a mandate. There's a heaven-sent assignment.

Horatio Bonar put it this way: "I dare not choose my lot, I would not if I might. Choose Thou for me, my God, so shall I walk upright. Take Thou my cup, and it with joy or sorrow fill as best to Thee may seem. Choose Thou my good or ill. Not mine, not mine the choice in things both great or small. Be Thou my guide, my strength, my wisdom and my all. Be that, Lord. Let your purpose be fulfilled."

That's a man who's taken his cup. I want your will, Lord. I want the mate I choose for my life to be your choice for me. I don't want to be driven by just physical beauty or or the person's money or lust or a good pedigree. I want your choice, Lord. Until then, I'll stay single. I want your individual for my life. I want your way.

There's a purpose to be fulfilled. Here's the second: With every purpose, there is a cup to be drunk. With every purpose, there is a cup to be drunk. Maybe a challenging obstacle, maybe a personal thorn in the flesh. Paul had that. It may be an individual who dogs your steps.

But there is a cup to be drunk. There is a point where you, against even the logic of your decision, will make that decision, knowing it's the Father's plan. Why on earth would you go there? It could be a personal thorn you have to endure. It could be misunderstanding from others.

It will require an attitude of acceptance. In with every purpose, there's a cup to be drunk. And that cup will taste bitter to you. It'll taste bitter. At the time it'll be bitter. I'm not saying when you step into His will from then on it's a downhill slide. I'm saying when you step into His will, that's when the meaning of the cross takes new dimensions.

At seminary we lose a baby. We lose a baby, of all things. We have a miscarriage. We wanted that baby. The loss of the baby was a journey that I have never shared with anyone. It's too personal. Five months along, that little cord wrapped around her neck. Stillborn.

There's a cup to be drunk. I could have said, "Why on earth am I here? Is this the thanks I get for obeying?" No, it's not like that. It doesn't work like that. It's not your will, it's His will. And how perfect is the Father's plan. How perfect is the cross. But it's the cup. It's perfect because you didn't have to be nailed there.

With every purpose, there's a cup to be drunk. Third: In every cup, there is pain to accept and endure. In every cup, there is pain to accept and endure. Some discomfort. Some daily cross that interferes and hurts. An affliction. The death of a dream. Physical ailment and limitations. It's all part of it. It's doubtful God can use any of us greatly till He's hurt us deeply.

I love V. Raymond Edman's little book where he mentions delay. The pain of delayed accomplishments. It's part of the cup, part of the pain. We like instant gratification. We like instant results. Disciples, there's nothing instant. In every cup, there's pain to accept and endure.

Number four: Through every pain, there is victory to claim. Through every pain, there is victory to claim. Did you get them? Because you're going to need them. For every disciple, there's a purpose to be fulfilled. With every purpose, there's a cup to be drunk. In every cup, there is pain to be endured. Through every pain, there is victory to claim.

I close with the writings and life of George Matheson. Please listen. M-A-T-H-E-S-O-N wrote the hymn, O Love That Will Not Let Me Go. Almost blind by the time he finished school. Completely blind by the time he entered ministry, and for 40 years he ministered totally blind. George Matheson.

He attracted overflowing crowds who came to hear him preach, and especially to hear him pray for 40 years. Other fellow ministers were afraid to hear his sermons because, as they put it, they are so great, we are tempted to plagiarism. George Matheson, blind, not only preacher and a man of prayer, but a writer of song.

In his wonderful work, *Thoughts for Life's Journey*: "My soul, reject not the place of thy prostration. It has ever been the robing room of royalty." That beautiful wording, robing room of royalty. Ask the great ones of the past what has been the spot of their prosperity. They will say it was the cold ground on which I once was lying.

Ask Abraham, he will point you to the sacrifice on Moriah. Ask Joseph, he will direct you to his dungeon in Egypt. Ask Moses, he will date his fortune from his danger in the Nile. Ask Ruth, she will bid you build her monument in the field of her toil. Ask David, he will tell you that his psalms came in the night.

Ask Job, he will remind you that God answered him out of the whirlwind of loss. Ask Paul, he will attribute his inspiration to the light that struck him blind. Ask one more, the Son of Man. He will answer from the cold ground on which I was lying, Gethsemane ground, I received my scepter there.

This is called the fellowship of His sufferings. And there's everything within us to resist it. Accept the cup. That's the model. That's why the cross continues to be that symbol for us. Bow with me, will you please? I know that today I've been speaking to a few impossible people.

I know because I once was. I don't know how many times my mother would say to me, "Son, you are impossible." I don't know how many times my wife said to me, early in marriage, "You are impossible." The shame of it all is how many times God said to me, "You think you're impossible, but I have a cup for you."

I don't know what your cup is. It may be physical affliction, it may be loss of a dream, it may be a broken romance, maybe a life of loneliness, feeling forgotten and obscure. And maybe physical pain. Maybe a mental breakdown. Some heartbreaking something that God would use to deepen your commitment to Him.

If you've never met the Savior, now's the time. If you have played around with your faith, now's the time to move into the inner circle. Playground days are over. Lord, I pray that you'll use much of this in a deep and abiding and significant way in all our lives.

Forgive us, our Father, for resisting the cup, for running from the cross, for pursuing what we wanted and missing altogether what it was you wanted. And then having stopped us in our tracks, I pray that you will give sensitive spirits to hear what you're saying and an open willingness to do where you're leading. To go there, to do it, and to rejoice in the victory of it.

Now, Lord, dismiss us in this solemn moment with the realization that you are the one in charge. And if we've learned nothing else, enable us to learn that from this message. In the name of our submissive, matchless Master we pray. Everyone said, Amen.

Bill Meyer: What Chuck Swindoll has shared today cuts right to the heart of what it means to walk with Jesus Christ. Believing in Him is the miracle of a moment, but becoming a true disciple is the journey of a lifetime. And that journey requires something most of us resist: surrendering our will to His.

So here's a question worth sitting with today. Are you still fighting the cup the Father has placed in your hand? If you're ready to go deeper, we have resources to help you. In fact, Insight for Living has a great bundle of resources for this 12-part series called *How Great is Our God*.

The bundle includes the *Searching the Scriptures* Bible Study workbook and all 12 audio messages in this series. You can find all the details at insight.org/offer. Well, tomorrow, June 30th, is the day that Insight for Living closes the accounting books on another ministry year. And on July 1st, we'll step into our 48th year of ministry. Chuck?

Chuck Swindoll: The first Monday in July 1979, that's when Insight for Living aired its very first radio program. I had no idea what was beginning that day. None. If someone had pulled back the curtain and shown me what God was about to do, I'm not sure my heart could have held the thrill.

We were naive. We were stepping out in faith with a national program, and frankly, we had no business being that bold. But we were, and we did. And men and women responded in droves. Not because we were clever, not because we had some sophisticated strategy or a slick marketing plan.

They responded because we heralded the only thing that has ever actually changed a human heart: the cross we proclaim. Nearly five decades later, nothing has changed. Not one thing that matters. Yes, the reach has grown and the platforms have multiplied. We go places now that would have seemed like science fiction in 1979.

Into phones, into earbuds, into languages and nations we could never have imagined on that first Monday morning. But the message, identical. It's the cross, always the cross. Look around at the world around you. Bodies failing, relationships fractured, public discourse that sounds more like a brawl than a conversation.

Pain in every direction. And right in the middle of all of it, we get to be dispensers of truth, God's truth. The kind that doesn't shift with the headlines or bend with the culture. That's an extraordinary privilege.

As we approach June 30th, nearly 46 years after that very first broadcast, I want to invite you to join what God is already doing. Your gift to Insight for Living carries the light into dark corners we haven't even reached yet. From our very first day until now, let's keep going together.

Bill Meyer: As an expression of our thanks for your gift, we'll send you a brand new booklet from Chuck. It's called *The Cross We Proclaim*. You know, we live in a world that's obsessed with image, credentials, and making impressions.

In his booklet, Chuck says there's a better way to live, and it begins at the foot of the cross where all the ground is level. By reading *The Cross We Proclaim*, you'll find the freedom that comes when you stop managing your reputation and start resting in what Christ accomplished.

To give a donation and request a copy of *The Cross We Proclaim*, call us at 800-772-8888. Or to send a check in the mail along with your request for the booklet, just address the envelope to Insight for Living, Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, Texas, 75034. That's Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, Texas, 75034.

You can also call us at 800-772-8888 or go to insight.org/donate. I'm Bill Meyer. Join us again tomorrow when Chuck Swindoll continues his series called *How Great is Our God*, right here on Insight for Living.

The preceding message, *The Cup That He Drank*, was copyrighted in 2008, 2009, 2016, 2019, and 2026, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2026 by Charles R. Swindoll, Incorporated. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.