God on the Move: “Heed the Call” – Acts 21

bobdylan1I doubt if anyone was thinking that a movement was going to be fostered by the ballad songs of a baby boy born in 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota – but that is what would happen some eighteen years later… as Robert Allen Zimmerman entered the stage as Bob Dylan. One of the popular lyric writers of the 1960’s he penned these words:

“Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There’s a battle outside ragin’.
It’ll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’.”

A platform favorite of demonstrators was the plea to “heed the call” of the masses. In Christian circles, we used the terms “heed the call” to refer not to political movements – but the movement within the follower of Jesus by God’s Spirit to the place of ministry. Believers are called by God and placed in service by that call.

As we continue walking the Roman roads with the Apostle Paul through the Christian Scriptures, (New Testament) we have come to see Paul as a seasoned shepherd of the early church, a well-recognized author of Holy Scripture, and a bold and zealous witness for Jesus across his known western world. Looking up close, no one who examines the record of accomplishments of the Apostle Paul’s life would doubt that he was a man who was “called” by God to accomplish great things. Few Christians would argue that as believers we don’t follow a call of God to be saved, and even to serve God. Yet, we don’t spend much time describing what the call of God DOES to daily decision making…a “how it works in practical life” view, if you will.

We do repeat some truths about the call of God to believers often enough that they are well known, partly because they are easy to establish from the Word. For instance, God called you to Himself for the purpose of life-changing transformation. The people that are “the called according to God’s purpose” of Romans 8 were the same believers that were “made alive by God” in Ephesians 2, “brought out of death into life”. God’s call was evident, and God bought you to place you on a mission. That call refers to God’s choice of you – to bring you to Himself. It is not the only way we use the term, however.

A second use of “call” is related to your service for the Lord as a believer – as in: “What ministry were you CALLED to do in the body?” In that case, we often note that a believer’s call is usually indicated by the spiritual gifts God bestowed on your life at the time of your salvation. Your “call” often follows your expressed passion and normally works within your personality – as Moses who early in his life burned with a sense of injustice was called to set the Hebrews free later in his life. In addition to these ideas, every believer who has observed Scripture carefully can tell you that a believer’s call must lead them only to works that are in harmony with the values of God’s Word.

The call for service is real, and important. Yet we don’t often point out how it works its way out in daily life. In this lesson we want to look past the simple truths of the call, and peer into the functioning or the call to serve while we see how it worked in Paul’s life – on the way to instructing our own walk. Watch Paul, and you will observe some valuable traits that are the outgrowth of following the call of God – perhaps even some that are less known and harder to grasp – especially as a young believer. It all begins with the singular observation…

Key Principle: God’s call in my life should show in the choices of my life.

Let’s look through the story of Acts 21, the rough and tumble of the Prophetic warnings of incarceration to Paul into the actual arrest of Paul, where we will see “seven truths about God’s call” that may not be clear to growing believers – but are essential lessons.

Because I have God’s call – I must weigh all of the other directions that come my way (Acts 21:1-4).

When God calls a man or woman from service, it doesn’t mean there won’t be other voices calling them to do something else…

Acts 21:1 When we had parted from them and had set sail, we ran a straight course to Cos and the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patara; 2 and having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. 3 When we came in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept sailing to Syria and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload its cargo. 4 After looking up the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem.

You are led by the Spirit, and you will grow to know God’s call for you – but not every believer will understand what He is telling you to do – even some who are following God wholly and love Him deeply. When God is at work in you, every spiritual “word” or “piece of advice” given to you must be measured through His call. Others may mean well and be thoroughly convinced of “God’s will for your life”, but they only know the part that God impressed upon them about their call – not your whole plan. We must learn to follow God’s direction, and cannot be so easily dissuaded by those who love God, but may not see all He told us about the situation.

I have seen this often, but it requires some explanation.

Years ago I worked in Elkhart, Indiana for a time, building robots on a shop floor in a manufacturing unit. During that time, the company I worked for was led by a nominal Christian man, who had a son in Seminary at a good school. The company owner knew I was a believer, and pulled me aside one day to lament that his son was making the decision to take his new bride and move overseas to Africa on a mission endeavor. He complained, “Don’t you people know how many people live in the US that needed God? Why in the world do you insist on traveling far from home in places like this to preach, when we have churches to preach from right here?” I tried to explain that his son wasn’t choosing where to go – only WHO to follow. If God told him to go – obedience was demanded.

It wasn’t hard to see that my boss was lamenting “losing” time with his son and future grandchildren. I understand that pain – but he didn’t understand the choice – because he didn’t grasp how a call to service works. God called the play – his son was just being obedient. His son knew what Jesus wanted.

Not to be overly personal, but this has happened many times in ministry through my life. When I came to Sebring, Florida, I got the amazing opportunity to serve in the church beside some fabulous men and women. Several of them are with Jesus now. One in particular stayed with our ministry and NEVER shared his thoughts about my teaching and preaching (out of loyalty) with anyone else but me. Would it surprise you to learn that not all the senior men who stood by my side truly agreed I was handling the pulpit properly? I am not saying that they thought I wasn’t preaching the Word. I am saying they weren’t happy with the diet as I planned it from the Word. One in particular believed that I wasn’t open to topical preaching, and he made it clear on a dozen occasions that his ministry was built on holiday preaching and hot topics. He told me many times I was “off the mark” preaching through books. I loved him, and still do –but I knew what God wanted me to do – and that was cover as many chapters as I could in the year. I began a second service and didn’t do what anyone else did – and heard repeatedly how I should repeat messages.

Stop for a second and hear what I am saying. I am not hurt, and those memories are not painful at all. I am not bringing this up to put down someone or elevate me – I am making a point. I knew God’s call for me. Others weighed in, and had I not been certain of God’s direction, I would have changed what I was doing – as I have countless times after consulting with our leaders on issues in which God hadn’t given me a specific direction. The point is this: even good people led by God will weigh in on some things that you must stick to because of what God told you to do. Paul understood that. They told him –nudged by the Spirit of God – that Jerusalem was a costly choice– and he booked a boat anyway.

Because I have God’s call – I cannot allow emotional attachments to stop me from following a walk of obedience (Acts 21:5-14).

Related to the first truth, but a bit different is the recognition that emotions cannot drive decision making when it comes to God’s will. Take a look at the following verses…

Acts 21:5 When our days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, escorted us until [we were] out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another. 6 Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home again. 7 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and after greeting the brethren, we stayed with them for a day. 8 On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses. 10 As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'” 12 When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents [began] begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”

Other prophetic words were handed down by God’s people, and they all sounded like: “Danger ahead!” Agabus dropped by to offer a graphic picture of Paul’s coming days… and it was not going to be any picnic! I am not making light of the issue. It was clear that it broke Paul’s heart to think that he would be taken from the other believers, and not see their faces again. Paul knew the stakes; but Paul knew God’s leading. If arrival in Jerusalem was the instruction from God for Paul, failure to arrive was disobedience. He couldn’t shirk his responsibilities for the sake of more time with loved ones. What foreign called missionary couldn’t say they understand Paul’s feelings and his tears?

The call of God to accomplish an area of ministry doesn’t mean you DON’T feel what anyone else feels – it means you trust God to care for your needs, and you know what He told you to do. The choice comes down to following Him or not – and you care more about His will than your feelings. As our culture continues to exalt one’s personal feelings above all else – this is fast becoming a foreign concept to people – to deny ourselves and follow God. The words of Jesus must still ring true in His people:

Mark 8:34: “And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

Notice how Paul responded when people pressed him about the future in verses thirteen and fourteen. First, he instructed the people that he felt as they did. Second, he made the point that he was following a path and was ready to do so. It appears to me from the narrative that did NOT stop the people from pressing him – but he would not be persuaded. Even in the first century believers were unsure about how the call of God worked in overruling the emotions – but Paul knew what he needed to do.

Because I have God’s call – I cannot allow rumor and misinformation to drive my path unless it will confuse the Gospel (Acts 21:15-25).

Finally arriving in Jerusalem, Paul was not finished demonstrating how God’s call worked in his life. Luke recorded:

Acts 21:15 After these days we got ready and started on our way up to Jerusalem. 16 [Some] of the disciples from Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple of long standing with whom we were to lodge. 17 After we arrived in Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18 And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 After he had greeted them, he [began] to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it they [began] glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law; 21 and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. 22 “What, then, is [to be done]? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 “Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 24 take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law. 25 “But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.”

Paul eased into the Jerusalem scene along with some friends and travel companions. He was “gladly received”, so we should picture some hugging, sharing and maybe even a few tears as God’s people joined together. He sat for a time with Jerusalem’s Pastor (James) and some of the other elders of the church and reported to them all that God was doing in and through him, and something remarkable happened in the room… An entire group of kosher believers began to praise God and celebrate the work of God among the Gentiles! They may not have had great experiences with these God was transforming, but they were excited that God was at work calling people to Himself!

After a time of praise, the leaders presented to Paul a local issue that needed to be dealt with – that of his reputation among Jewish believers. The words of Paul were, in some cases, misunderstood. The letter to the Galatian believers still is largely misunderstood by many as an antinomian rant – when it is nothing of the sort. Add to the uncertainty from Paul’s friends the blatant lies and deliberate rumors of his foes to Jerusalem’s leadership in the Temple – and it was no wonder that Paul was maligned in Jerusalem. The elders were excited that so many Jews knew Jesus and also kept the laws that God told them never to set aside. Jesus didn’t cancel the command for Jews to keep Sabbath – it was a forever command. Jesus didn’t cancel circumcision for Jewish infant boys – it was a forever symbol of the covenant God had with Abraham. Jews didn’t cancel the food laws given to Jews in Leviticus 11 – for they were restrictions God placed specifically on the children of Israel for signs of a special covenant relationship. The symbols didn’t justify them – that came from the payment of Messiah on Calvary. At the same time, Messiah didn’t cancel them or the men would have been embarrassed admitting these men were both believers in Jesus and active in keeping the Law.

Don’t forget that Paul didn’t CORRECT them for having Jews that followed the Law –he went out of his way to make sure those very believers DIDN’T believe that he was saying that at all. Bible teachers that make this seem like “he was just being a Jew to Jews, but didn’t think Jews needed to keep the Law given them” make Paul into the worst kind of pandering politician in my view. The record seems clear. The elders were thankful the Jewish believers kept the Law, and Paul didn’t want them to believe he wasn’t one of them. Either that was genuine, or it was pandering to the polls.

Note the assurance of the record: “…all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you.” It seems clear enough from the Scriptures that integrity of the leaders would demand they not be putting a false front on Paul’s beliefs – they didn’t think he was teaching Jews to stop keeping the Law – and they reiterated the fact that although there was but ONE WAY to be declared righteous by God (the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary), there were two distinct paths of sanctification – the walk of obedience of one who knows and follows God. Verse twenty-five reiterated the four standards for Gentiles passed by the Jerusalem Council years before – i.e. “meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication” – as a clearly different occurrence than what was happening in Jerusalem among Jewish believers.

Paul wanted to clear the air, not to protect himself, but because what was being said was confusing to the Gospel. God didn’t tell Jews to accept Jesus and stop being distinctly Jewish in lifestyle. God didn’t “kosher” the hams. At the same time, God wasn’t interested in Gentiles trying to replace the Jewish people by acting like them. God created one new man – Jew and Gentile, bond and free, male and female. All entered justification the same way. Each had a separate path for sanctification – because God wanted to do different things by different people. Paul wanted that message clear. He wasn’t doing things to defend his reputation – but for the clarity of the Gospel.

People don’t have to like us as God’s servants, but we have a sacred responsibility to make sure the message we were given is communicated lovingly, but carefully. We must not adjust the message, nor hinder people by giving it in a way that is distracting from the message.

Because I have God’s call – I must expect the opposition of the Deceiver and his planted forces (Acts 21:26-28).

The clarity of the message wasn’t Paul’s only problem. He also had a problem that was caused directly by the interruption of the father of lies and those who promoted darkness. Luke told the story…

Acts 21:26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them. 27 When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, [began] to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, come to our aid! This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”

He went to take a vow, though he knew he had a score of enemies in that place. Men openly lied about the things that happened and acted as if they were defending the purity of God’s holy place. They were doing nothing of the kind. Paul knew their type. He spent many years surrounded by arrogant men who pretended to have more concern about God’s reputation than was real.

Paul lived day to day following God guiding hand. He never expected that to mean that things would “always go well” for him. In 2 Cor. 11:24-25, Paul told the church that:

• Five times he was beaten with 39 stripes of Jews (Dt. 25:1-3 says 40 stripes, one less was offered so the punishment was not overdone).
• Three times he was beaten with rods (at least one was recorded in Philippi in Acts 16:22).
• He was once stoned and left for dead at Lystra (Acts 14:19)
• He had three times been shipwrecked (with one day and one night in “the deep”).

We can now add to that list a number of things that happened after 2 Corinthians was written:

• Paul escaped a plot against him in Corinth (Acts. 20:3).
• This scene of his arrest in Jerusalem was anything but “just” (Acts 21:32).
• Another (fourth) shipwreck in Acts 27 was in his future here.
• A lengthy imprisonment in Caesarea and later Rome awaited him (28:30).
• After a second arrest, and eventual execution brought his service to an end.

All of that, and he served with a “thorn in the flesh” of some kind, which was apparently an eye problem. (2 Corinthians 12:5-10; Gal. 4:12-15). What is the point? Paul FOLLOWED God and SERVED God – and that kept him in trouble – not in constant peaceful circumstances. He learned contentment amid trouble, not blessing amid ease.

Because I have God’s call – I should anticipate hatred and unfair treatment that is not rational (Acts 21:29-31).

On the contrary to learning in ease, Paul anticipated unfair treatment, and recognized that was part of following Christ. Listen to what Luke recorded during the scene of his tumultuous arrest…

Acts 21:29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. 30 Then all the city was provoked, and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. 31 While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the [Roman] cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

They dragged him. They wanted him dead. A lynch mob didn’t seek proof he did anything wrong – after all, in the keeping of the purity of God, too bad if he wasn’t actually, you know… guilty. They wanted to keep God’s reputation, so they skipped past all the parts of the Law that cautioned against injustice to get to the parts where they could just kill the one the mob said was guilty!

If you have ever been ganged up on in a class because you had the audacity to stand up and say you believed that God actually created the world, or that God had standards for things like human sexuality – you know what I mean by the fear and adrenaline push that can easily take over under attack. People in packs are incredibly brave. Without their buddies, they would whimper if they were attacked – but together they are strong and have no problem attacking you. Anyone who believes that followers of Jesus aren’t actually HATED today, hasn’t been in a chat room or on a thread in social media. Our Savior is STILL hated. Our message is STILL despised. We should not be surprised. Following God doesn’t exempt us from feeling the hatred of God’s enemy and his followers. They did not spare our Savior – and they will do all they can to eliminate us. Maybe it won’t be killing, but it will be marginalizing and muscling us to the corner of the society. We should expect it, and we should challenge it while we can – but that won’t go on forever.

Because I have God’s call – I should anticipate even physical opposition and pain (Acts 21:32).

Luke included the note that:

Acts 21:32 At once he took along [some] soldiers and centurions and ran down to them; and when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

The people were beating Paul. He wasn’t tried by a court, he was beaten by a mob. They didn’t SEE him do something wrong, they HEARD that he might have committed a crime. He was guilty because he associated with Gentiles, and that was enough for people to lash out. Here is a special word for our time…

Be especially careful about “piling on” on the web. When someone makes a “report” about something, check sources carefully. Believers are being duped into passing false reports on many things, and it is bringing the cause of Christ into derision. What is more, some believers will argue and fight on the web with the worst of tempers – sounding like those in the world. Remember this: you can say the right thing the wrong way – and it is worse than if you never said anything. Don’t feel pressure to defend God’s reputation and pile on unless the nudge is from God – and not your ego or angry streak. In the end, I am certain some well-meaning people were throwing punches at Paul because they thought he did something, but they weren’t sure of the fact. Don’t join into the chorus of protest unless you are sure of the facts and the sources of those facts.

Because I have God’s call – I should look for any opportunity to share Jesus with people (Acts 21:33-40).

The remarkable this about Paul was that in the tumult, he had the presence of mind to try to move the scene to a presentation of Jesus. The text recorded:

Acts 21:33 Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; and he [began] asking who he was and what he had done. 34 But among the crowd some were shouting one thing [and] some another, and when he could not find out the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. 35 When he got to the stairs, he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob; 36 for the multitude of the people kept following them, shouting, “Away with him!” 37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? 38 “Then you are not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?” 39 But Paul said, “I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.” 40 When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, motioned to the people with his hand; and when there was a great hush, he spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect, saying..”

Where many would see only a need to defend and struggle, Paul was looking carefully for an opportunity to share the truth of Christ. Where many would focus on pressing for their rights, Paul felt his responsibility to the Gospel. I love that level of composure! Remaining composed in the face of trouble likely occurred because Paul knew his call to ministry…

I don’t know if you know the preacher from Texas named Tony Evans. If you do, the story is only better… Tony hates elevators, and is always afraid they will break while he is inside them. A few years ago, the elevator of a high rise met his expectations and stopped half way up to its destination, many floors above the lobby of a large building. Tony tells the story well, and I won’t do it justice – but he talked about how some people began screaming, hoping loud noise would be noticed. Others pounded on the doors and walls, hoping that would get the attention of the world outside. Tony looked in dismay as the small gathering unraveled, but as he scanned the area next to the door, he saw a little door with the symbol of a phone on it. He moved across the elevator, and picked up the small handset, and called the front desk of the building – the phone got an immediate response. All the shouting and pounding looked more effective, but a quiet phone call got them help… because a man had composure in a tight place.

Composure helps us serve with a view toward our real goal – to honor the Lord in each circumstance. That is just another way that God’s call in my life should show in the choices of my life. God will lodge in your heart a burden – perhaps not unique to others, but deeply resonant within you. It is your opportunity to serve Him!

Your call from God is not a PROJECT; it is the means through which God will show you the PRIZE of your life!

There is an old story about a large boulder that blocked the normal passageway of the roadway along a pass outside of a village, half way to the neighboring township. Traveler after traveler used the road, and found it difficult to pass the boulder, because it forced them to stop and carefully move their carts around to the edges of the road, veering off the main ruts to get around this inconvenient obstruction. People passed, day after day muttering, “Can you believe that? Someone should get that big thing out of the way. What an inconvenience!” One day a man came by and saw the blocking boulder, took a branch from a tree and used a small rock as a fulcrum, dislodging the boulder and pushing it from the roadway – clearing the path. Directly beneath the rock, he noticed a small bag and a handwritten note. Curious, the man snatched the note and read it. Scribbled on it were these words: “Thank you for being a true servant of our kingdom. You did more than recognize the work that needed to be done; you took the time to actually do it. Many have complained; you have acted on the problem. Please accept this bag of gold that traveler after traveler passed by simply because they didn’t act to serve everyone else.”

Following His Footsteps: “Aiming at the Wrong Target” – John 6

target1Did you ever have an embarrassing moment that just wouldn’t go away? Olympic athlete Matt Emmons can sympathize with you, I’d bet:

Matt Emmons was just focusing on staying calm. He wishes he had been more concerned with where he was shooting. Emmons fired at the wrong target on his final shot, a simple mistake that cost the American a commanding lead in the 50-meter three-position rifle final and ruined his chance for a second gold medal. Ahead after nine shots and needing only to get near the bull’s-eye to win, Emmons fired at the target in Lane 3 while he was shooting in Lane 2. He had cross-fired — an extremely rare mistake in elite competition — and received a score of zero. That dropped Emmons to eighth place at 1,257.4 points and lifted Jia Zhanbo of China to the gold at 1,264.5. “On that shot, I was just worrying about calming myself down and just breaking a good shot, and so I didn’t even look at the number,” said Emmons, 23. “I probably should have. I will from now on.” (Washington Post: Emmons Loses Gold Medal After Aiming at Wrong Target – Monday, August 23, 2004)

Wow, that had to be tough! I took some consolation in the fact that it was a “second” gold metal – no sense in being stingy. At the same time, to lose because he aimed at the wrong target had to be one of those moments he relived a few hundred times in his mind. There are others in sports with such embarrassing moments, and they are rumored to have started a “club”:

Minnesota Vikings “iron man Jim Marshall” played an NFL-record 282 consecutive games at defensive end. Yet, it will likely take a miracle for Marshall to lose his grip on his other notable mark: the most negative yardage accumulated on a single play in NFL history. On October 25, 1964, in a game against the San Francisco 49ers, Marshall recovered a fumble and ran 66 yards with it the wrong way into his own end zone. Thinking that he had scored a touchdown for the Vikings, Marshall then threw the ball away in celebration. The ball landed out of bounds, resulting in a safety for the 49ers. Marshall later received a letter from Roy Riegels, infamous for a wrong-way run in the 1929 Rose Bowl, stating, “Welcome to the club”.

Let’s all agree that we cannot win a game or a medal if we don’t aim in the right direction. While we are on the same page of agreement, can we also recognize the spiritual truth as well? Let’s say it the way John did in John 6…

Key Principle: To gain eternal life we must focus on accepting Jesus and what He did for us, not the other distractions that draw our eyes away from Him.

For some, the point of the Gospel – a relationship with Jesus – is obscured by other diversions. The passage suggests five. There are people who seem to be…

Desiring the benefits, but not a relationship with the Lord.

Some people want what God can DO for them – but not God Himself. Consider this account:

John 6:22 The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but [that] His disciples had gone away alone. 23 There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. 25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”

Jesus made His way out to the disciples walking on the water, and that wasn’t intended to me a display, but a way He could get home to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. The disciples saw Him, and He entered the vessel –but that didn’t seem to be the original intent of the walk. Jesus wasn’t trying, even after the fact, to make His walk a matter of public witness. The fact that Jesus was there, and the fact that they all saw the disciples leave without Him gave rise to the question in verse twenty-five: “How did you get here?” Jesus cut through the question, and drove the discussion to their true desire. The people weren’t really asking about HOW Jesus got there – they wanted to know if He was going to continue to “make lunch” for each gathering. They didn’t come with the need for a healing, but they could always use a free lunch.

Jesus’ warning is valuable even generations later. He told them: “Don’t labor for the physical fulfillments, but rather place your hungers in what I can give you in the spiritual fulfillment of eternal life.” The Savior knew and openly expressed that God gave to Him some who were marked for a relationship with Him.

In 1922, a woman named Rhea F. Miller wrote a poem. In 1932, while struggling over some enticing offers to use his voice for financial gain, a copy of that poem was placed on the top of an organ in a family home in New York by a worried mother. Seated at the organ was a 23-year-old musician named George Beverly Shea. Shea read Miller’s poem and the words on the paper brought deep conviction. George took the time to set them to music. As he played the finished product and sung each word, George’s mom tearfully encouraged him to sing the new song in church the following Sunday. Those words are known to Christians in much of the world:

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold, I’d rather have His than have riches untold; I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands, I’d rather be led by His nail pierced hand. Refrain: Than to be the king of a vast domain, And be held in sin’s dread sway; I’d rather have Jesus than anything – This world affords today.

Life’s prize for a true Christian is not wealth or fame or worldly acceptance – the prize is Christ. The center of his faith is not deep self-understanding or calming inner peace – it is intimacy with Him. The pattern is not found in the popular and the successful of this world – but the Savior who gave Himself for others. The goal is not temporal accomplishment – for all will quickly fade when standing before the One whose Majesty is unparalleled in the Heavens. Paul understood this when he wrote: “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.” Yet the gain was not simply embracing the long departed family of earth, nor entering a Heavenly home of delights set by a street of gold – rather it is standing in the clarity of the light emanates from the Son, with no need for any other light. The prize to the Christian is a life with Jesus. Since that is true, we must tailor our appetites to long for that, and not for peace, acceptance, wealth or fame. These tasty morsels of earth will be bland in tasteless above in the banquet halls of Heaven – offering nothing but distraction from the beauty, majesty and wonder of our Savior at the wedding feast.

Yet, even today, in the presentation of Jesus to lost men and women, we often hear those who make the presentation about inner peace, self-fulfillment or even riches. There have always been those who came to Jesus, but didn’t want Him – they wanted a “fix” for some problem. When He didn’t deliver in the time and way they hoped, they wandered off – because they didn’t come seeking Him.

Hungering a list to perform, not a relationship to cherish.

In that same way, Jesus showed another distraction people fall into…

John 6:28 Therefore they [the men speaking to Jesus] said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.

Notice the question they asked Jesus in verse twenty-eight. They were not asking for relationship with the Son (which is what Jesus just told them they needed). They asked how they could “work the works of God” – as if the works would substitute for a relationship. Jesus’ answer was the beginning place of relationship with Him – belief that He truly came from God and was on the mission He made plain in His speaking.

If one would come to Jesus to invite Him to be Savior, he or she must believe that Jesus was sent from God, and can deliver on the desired salvation because God has ordained the work of the One Who was called “Savior”. Without divine sanction and origin, Jesus was a good man Who desired to bring a message of the need a love for God and fellow man – a message He could do little to secure beyond pointing out the needs. If He is Who He claimed to be – the Eternal Son of God with power over sin and God’s appointment to pay fully for its darkness – then His mission needed to be embraced for His identity to be recognized. Jesus made the point that it was not enough for one to seek a list of works and fulfill them – the answer was found in the authorized connection between the Father and the Son.

Let’s be clear: If Jesus was sent from God, He existed before His birth in Bethlehem (as is clear from the teachings of the Apostle Paul in places like Colossians 1 and Philippians 2). If He was sent from God, the work He accomplished could secure the salvation He promised. If He was not from God – He was a well-meaning impostor. Jesus made clear it was not essential to begin with lifestyle changes and lists – it was essential to begin by believing that Jesus came from the Father, and His mission was approved by the Father. The issue was this: Jesus either came and fulfilled what God desired for redemption, or He did not. Jesus made the point that belief in that connection was the beginning point of receiving Him.

This is where the believer and the non-believer divide in our understanding. The world has, for the most part, been willing to see Jesus as a “good man” – but not as One Who was connected to God in the way that He described Himself to be. A Jesus of a manger in Bethlehem, a baby soft and cuddly is a threat to no one. Forgotten is the Jesus Who cleared the Temple in zeal – unless it is reformed to show how He hated “religious” people – which wasn’t really the point of the story. Forgotten is the Jesus Who gave Sinai’s law – for the Jesus “on the street” let the adulteress go – an ever understanding One who “knows our failures”. In essence, the Jesus of “pop culture” is a caricature of the One in the Bible. The One Who stands above all, the name at which every knee should bow and tongue confess as Master is not the Jesus on the street of America. Sadly, He is not the Jesus in many churches anymore, either. Our modern approach to Jesus has been to make Him more of a friend, a guidance counselor, a toothless chaplain – ever seeking to make our performance in life more successful and our heart during the journey more at peace. Though that isn’t the Jesus we need – it is the Jesus many want. Jesus told these men from the beginning the “divine connection” and Father’s initiative in the work was an essential understanding that put one on the road to recognizing His true mission.

Worshiping the men, but not their Master.

If you keep reading, yet another distraction from truth is mentioned…

John 6:30 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31 “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.'” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.

The men made clear they had expectations of Jesus’ performance – they wanted to compare His works against those done before – particularly by Moses in the wilderness. In verse thirty, they called on Jesus to offer another “free lunch” like He did when they followed Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They pressed Him: “What WORK will you perform?” They continued: “Our fathers got bread from Heaven, in fact, the Scriptures say that HE gave them bread to eat.” In their words, they quoted Psalm 78, but misdirected the pronouns of the verses.

Psalm 78:19 said: “Then they spoke against God; They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? 20 “Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out, And streams were overflowing; Can He give bread also? Will He provide meat for His people?

At that point, the “he” pronoun sounded to many like MOSES who struck the rock – yet the He that caused the rock to yield water was the Lord – not His servant. The passage continues in the Psalms:

Psalm 78:21 “Therefore the LORD heard [ not the striking of the rock, but the complaints of the people] and was full of wrath; And a fire was kindled against Jacob and anger also mounted against Israel, 22 Because they did not believe in God and did not trust in His salvation. 23 Yet He [God] commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven; 24 He rained down manna upon them to eat and gave them food from heaven. 25 Man did eat the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance.”

Generations later the people still apparently ascribed the work to Moses more than God. Jesus made that clear in His response – it WASN’T MOSES that gave you food in the wilderness – that came from Heaven!

People have the tendency to look at the servant of God and give him or her the credit for what God Himself does. We bring a message of truth, but the truth is not ours – we are the messenger not the source. A few chapters into the Book of Acts, people were seeking the shadow of Peter and John to fall on them – but these men made clear they had Jesus to give others – and there was nothing better. We must expect people to follow people before the message they bring – but as they mature they should not remain in that state. They should grow up and place their allegiance in the Lord above – or their faith will torque into a man-centered religious expression.

Hungering for temporal satisfactions, not eternal solutions.

At the core of many people is a distraction by a “here centered” life. Take a look at the words of Jesus…

John 6:34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. 36 “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” And later in… 49 “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

At the heart of the problem of belief is a hunger for fulfillment and success in the wrong place, and a blunted view of what is real, lasting and truly fulfilling. We see life on earth the center of all, and the “afterlife” as some addendum. Yet, this life is short, and the next is eternal – or the message of Jesus is a sham.

Jesus said He is the bread sent from Heaven – the needed element of sustenance. He said the Father had given Him some to follow Him. He said it was His Father’s plan He followed – and that those who followed Him would have eternal life, being raised up on the last day. He claimed the bread, once consumed, would give eternal life and make Him not die. Yet, Jesus was speaking of spiritual life and brought the antidote to sin sickness. His effort was not to fill our stomach, but to fill our heart, our spirit. The problem is simple: One who is looking for a full stomach will miss the offer of a full heart. Many people want “salvation” but they mean it in a “this world” sense. The fact is that we quickly recognize the dangers of a disease to the body – but not to the spirit. We “get” why Ebola is a scary disease – but not why sin is a much worse problem – because we focus on the wrong world.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss, in her book The Heart God Purifies wrote this: “Most of us have become so familiar with sin that we no longer see it as a deadly monster. Sin is more dangerous than wild bears, more deadly than blazing forest fires. Ask Nebuchadnezzar, who lost his mind because he refused to deal with his pride. Ask Samson, who was reduced to a pathetic shred of a man because he never got control over the lusts of his flesh. Ask Achan and Ananias and Sapphira, who all lost their lives over ‘small’ secret sins.”

Pastor Jonathan Fallwell noted in a broadcast email yesterday that: “While Ebola destroys the body, sin destroys the inner man, which means it separates us from God and sends us in a spiritual tailspin. We see it in our culture, which has become obsessed with sinful behavior. Imagine watching virtually any modern television show or ad in the context of the cultural climate just 40, 30, even 20 years ago. Tragically, America has adopted a tolerance and acceptance of sin and it does not appear that this trend will soon end.”

Jesus was trying to get the men to realize that they were looking for food to get through the day –but He was offering food that would get them through eternity. It is hard to grasp God’s objective when the view of it is blocked by temporal hungers.

Perceiving a good man, not recognizing the “God-man”.

As He spoke Jesus encountered another reaction that was rooted in disbelief and distraction…

John 6:41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, I have come down out of heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 “It is written in the prophets, AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46 “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 “I am the bread of life.

The men who heard Jesus recognized Him as the son of a family they knew. They didn’t say the name of “Joseph” and “Mary” out of derision – they were a good family. Yet, they were from Nazareth (as far back as anyone cared to remember) – and Nazareth was a LONG WAY from Heaven. How could Jesus point to the Heavens and claim He was anything more than a good man who came to do good works and bring happiness to hurting people. A few healings and miracles were not enough to prove that He was anything more than a good guy with a social conscience in their view.

Yet, Jesus was not unclear about what He intended His life to be and to mean to others. He made clear that His Father was drawing people to Him, and others would turn a blind eye. He made clear that He alone had seen the Father, and that belief in Him was the necessary belief that brought life. The people were ready to see Him as a good man – but not as the One Who came down from the Father to bring life eternal – the fully God and fully man eternal Son of the Holy One. He simply said: “I am the bread of life – I am what you need. Me. Nothing else will give you life.”

Look at the words of Jesus in verse forty-seven: “He who believes has eternal life.” Believes exactly “what” is the question. Jesus made the careful point that one must believe that He is the One sent from God Who has seen God, and knows what God requires.” That is the heart of the matter. Jesus either paid the price for sin knowledgeably – or He did not. He is either from God, or He lived in a dream or delusion. What a man or woman concluded about Jesus’ coming, purpose and work made the difference between life eternal and none – according to the words of Jesus as recorded by John.

Fixating on the image, but missing the point.

The longer I preach, the more I sympathize with the last problem…people fixate on an image or illustration of a message, but seem to miss spiritual point being made. Take a look:

John 6:52 Then the Jews [began] to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us [His] flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 “This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.” 59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. 60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard [this] said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? 62 “[What] then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. 65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” 66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.

Jesus used an image of His body as “manna from Heaven”. In verse fifty-two the people didn’t grasp how they could “eat His flesh”. Strip away church history and the layered theologies of generations with the debates over “consubstantiation” (the doctrine of many of your Lutheran friends that the substance of the bread and wine “coexists with the body and blood of Christ” in the elements of the Eucharist) and “transubstantiation” (The liturgical view, as with your Roman Catholic friend) that the bread and cup at the mass undergo a “conversion” of the substances into the actual body and blood of Christ while the appearances of bread and wine still remain). Go back to the Jewish village of long ago – and recall the dramatic ways Jews were taught never, never, never to INGEST blood. Eating blood was worse than having a ham for dinner.

Jesus told them they needed to “eat His flesh” and the Jews rejected outright the image. Even the disciples told Him: “Nobody is going to listen to that!” Jesus’ answer reveals what the disciples and other listeners were doing with His point – obscuring what He was truly saying. He simply replied: “You guys are stuck on the flesh and missing the spiritual point of the whole illustration!” The flesh, food and eating wasn’t what Jesus was literally talking about – spiritual ingestion of an inner relationship was the point of the saying! He said: “The flesh profits nothing!” In other words, “I am not talking about baking me into your bread – I am talking about spiritual truth!”

How well I understand this comment. In the middle of a series from the Word, I may search for a personal illustration that opens a window to an elusive idea. Let’s say I tell you about the time I went skiing in the Pocono Mountains – and broke all the fingers on my left hand above and below the knuckles – all the way across. That is a true story, and the skiers among us may snap back from wandering in the message to hear about the incident. Those on the staff who like poking fun at me because I am no sportsman will listen intently. It will become the source of several jokes for future staff meetings. Sadly, whatever I was trying to illustrate from the text will quickly be forgotten. Illustrations to aid learners are important, but people can get caught up in the images. I see it all the time.

Let me be clear: Jesus doesn’t want you to EAT HIM in any physical sense. He doesn’t need to mystically add His blood to your communion wine. The bread we eat, if measured under a microscope after any priest of Pastor prays will still be, in every microscopic way, bread – nothing more. Jesus wasn’t telling people they needed daily bread blessed by a priest into becoming His body to go to Heaven.

Sin is of the heart. You don’t need to do anything to rebel against God in your heart. Greed is of the heart. Lust is of the heart… and so is salvation. It doesn’t come in a wafer – it comes in surrender to the Savior in the heart – and that was His point. The rest of the deep theology, for centuries, has served only to obscure the point and remember only the illustration.

Our permanent relationship with God in Heaven came at a price Jesus paid for us! The picture of intimacy and transformation from within was graphically offered, but not easily understood.

• Disciples then, and now, must see Jesus in His place – Who is Jesus?
• Disciples must understand where real life is – Where does Jesus fulfill us?
• Disciples must understand that only believers will get it – What does Jesus require of us?
• Disciples must understand that God enables the process – How does a believer find the truth?

Until we understand the place of Jesus, and recognize that reality is primarily in the spiritual realm (the physical is a reflection) we don’t understand the core of His message. When those truths are accepted and we change our lives to conform to the truth, God opens new doors to us.

Three Responses to Jesus (6:66-71)

Look at the responses to Jesus:

Some left to seek fulfillment elsewhere (6:66). John 6:66 “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”

When Christianity is about Christ, and not about self-fulfillment, some people leave – because they weren’t there for that reason to begin with!

Some remained and understood He had the truth (6:67-69). John 6:67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” 68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

Some stayed but weren’t real (6:70-71) John 6:70 Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” 71 Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.

Yet, not all that left were lost forever (some would later return). Note that not all that stayed were truly “with the program” – Judas was sitting right there!

The response that was essential was inner surrender to Who Jesus is, and acceptance of what He does for us in our place.

Adrian Rogers told years ago of a man from Romania named “Josef”. He and Rogers were talking about the difference between “commitment” and the word “surrender” as preachers used them. Josef made an important distinction that is worth noting as we close: “When you make a commitment, you are still in some limited control no matter how noble the thing you commit to. One can commit to pray, study the Bible, give his money, to make automobile payments, or to lose weight. Whatever he or she chooses to do, they commit to it. It is a renewable quantity… Yet the term surrender is considerably different”, the man said. “If someone holds a gun and asks you to lift your hands in the air as a token of surrender, you don’t tell that individual what you are committed to. You simply surrender and do as you are told.” The key word concerning Christ is surrender, not simply commitment.

We are to be the slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ.” We must recognize that we come not to train Him to meet our desires better, but to be trained to find our sufficiency in Him. I would argue that we have enough commitment in the church today… we may lack a sincere understanding of surrender!

To gain eternal life we must focus on accepting Jesus and what He did for us, not the other distractions that draw our eyes away from Him.

God on the Move: “Setting the Record Straight” – Acts 20

crist scott debateNow is apparently NOT the time to desire to run our beloved Sunshine State. The current Governor’s race has been typically framed as one of the nastiest in the country, as an incumbent Governor and a former Governor try to woo voters by casting a shadow on their opponent. The current issue of “The Economist” took the time to weigh in without offering any endorsement to either man, as they shed light on the appalling lack of civility in the race.

“…Yet both campaigns talk more about the other guy’s flaws than their own policies. Mr. Crist, voters hear, stands for nothing. Mr. Scott, they are told, stands for Big Oil and billionaires. Personality seems to matter a lot, and Mr. Crist has more of it. At a debate on October 21st in Jacksonville, the former governor delivered perfect sound bites, looking with puppy-dog eyes straight at the camera as he explained that “I’m running to give you a chance.” Mr. Scott grimaced weirdly and dodged questions less skillfully. A previous debate was even worse for Mr. Scott: he failed to appear on stage for several minutes, on live television, after a squabble over whether Mr. Crist could have a fan under his lectern. Comedians and Democrats rejoiced. Mr. Scott’s hope will be that attack ads can overcome the charm deficit. He has plenty of money, including his own fortune, to spend denting Mr. Crist’s brand. But while this strategy has cut Mr. Crist’s lead, it has not erased it. And Mr. Crist now has lots of financial backing too, not least from Tom Steyer, a Californian billionaire who is spending vast sums to defeat candidates who don’t take global warming seriously…”

I mention the race with no particular selection advice to the voters, but one specific insight: It is more important that we know what a candidate truly believes and plans for his administration, than how adept he is at muddying his opponent. We need “proper exposure” to the man’s beliefs and values – or we don’t know what kind of LEADER the man will be. Without a clear picture of both values and how they will apply to the legislative issues of our time, we might as well hold a beauty pageant to get our leaders.

Fortunately for us, when it comes to leadership in the church of Jesus Christ, we have some insightful moments of exposure that help us understand the men God used in the early days of the church to share Jesus with the world. These moments of exposure offer us both MODELS for leaders today and ASSURANCE of the kind of men God used to get the work started in the first century. The men weren’t perfect, and they weren’t always right in how they handled things – but the exposure allows us to see God using “broken pots” to do extraordinary things! This lesson is an “up close” exposure of Paul’s values concerning ministry, taken from a speech he made to close friends during an emotional parting.

Key Principle: God mightily uses men and women who reflect His values and His message without wavering.

Luke took his time getting to the address of Paul to the elders of Miletos with three short stories (recorded in Acts 20:1-17) that set up the unique exposure of Paul’s heart in his message at the end of the chapter. Though they aren’t our focus, we won’t rush through them, because they offer valuable information on what Paul had been through in the previous few months before his tearful exchange with some much loved elders of the city where he spent more time than any other on his journeys, Ephesus.

Before that address, the first story recalled by Luke was about Paul’s travels and companions in a very short summary form in Acts 20:1-6:

Acts 20:1 After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them, he left to go to Macedonia. 2 He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed three months. Because some Jews had plotted against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. 4 He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. 5 These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. 6 But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.

Paul left the city of Ephesus after the place settled down from the riot in Acts 19. He met with the men on the team he had been teaching, and commended the work to them while he went “back on the road” to continue his mission work. These were some of the men he will address at the end of the chapter, but that was several months later. He traveled (apparently via ship) bypassing the great cities of Smyrna, Pergamum and Troas, and made his way to Macedonia- then on to Greece. Near the end of his three months of travel, seven men assembled back in Troas (in Asia Minor) and waited for Luke and Paul to arrive. The two men delayed departure until after Paul’s celebrations of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but eventually found their way down to Neapolis (the port of Philippi) and crossed by sea over to Troas. The winds were running contrary, so the sailing took a few extra days. On arrival in Troas, the nine men met together for a full week as the countdown toward Pentecost was underway for the Jews among them.

Take a breath. This was a short clip of a journey of three months that included visits to some tough places. Paul was being dogged by men who plotted against him, and it seems he was feeling the pressure. The end of that journey was a wonderful time to retreat into the circle of some brothers who helped Paul get ready for the uncertainty ahead. What a blessing that God provided – not just the Spirit for daily comfort – but brothers in the Lord for comradery and support! Paul needed this break, for the days were drawing ever nearer to his arrest and lengthy incarceration.

The second story recalled a long sermon, a sleepy listener and a miracle:

20:7 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” 11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.

I am deeply encouraged by this story. First, it reminds me that I am not the only preacher who loses people who need a nap. Second, I am not the only long-winded teacher of the Bible – but I am in good company. Though there are a variety of ways to translate the opening words of this passage, I don’t believe the passage reflects a Sunday worship service at all, and I certainly would NOT use the passage as a defense for a Sunday meeting, though some commentators insist that is the better reading. The Greek reads this way: “en de mia ton Sabbaton”, which can be “on the first of the week” or “on the first of the Sabbaths”, which would normally be an unusual reading. Yet, I think that is EXACTLY what Luke intended. The passage is clearly set AFTER the Passover, and the rush to get to Jerusalem for the Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost) is obvious in Acts 20:16. Jews counted the seven Sabbaths as a “season” leading to the celebration of the “Giving of the Law” (see Exodus 19 and the “fifty days” journey completion). The meeting doesn’t appear to have been a Sunday night service, but more likely a Saturday night “Havdalah” service for the completion of the Sabbath that brought the people together.

Because Paul was going to leave them, he extended the service late into the evening, and eventually into the wee hours of Sunday morning. I love the details of Luke’s account:

• Paul went on until midnight (7).
• Lamps were warming up the room (8).
• In spite of the lightness of the room, Eutychus was dozing, heading for deep sleep (9).
• Here is my favorite part: “Paul talked ON and ON…” You have to smile at this… He was caught up in his subject and didn’t notice the hour, I suppose.

Out the window Eutychus tumbled, and he hit the pavement below hard. The people were visibly shaken as they lifted him and declared him “dead”. Paul went down to his body and raised him up with God’s power. After this, Paul went back to teaching – sharing a meal and continuing his teaching until daylight.

I am going to resist the temptation to make the application that those who sleep in church die a nasty death – though some Bible teachers would, no doubt, yield to that lure. Rather, it seems more worthwhile to note that the healing was not Paul’s main concern – but the instructions seemed to dominate his mind. Paul knew the man was FINE now, and would become a distraction if he didn’t press through to the lesson he was giving them. He wasn’t more ecstatic about a healing than he was about God’s healing of hearts through his Word when it was vibrantly taught.

The third story set the immediate scene for Paul’s emotional message to the Elders of Ephesus, and explained why he didn’t give it in Ephesus:

20:13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. 14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. 15 The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. 16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost. 17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. 18 When they arrived, he said to them…”

Stop your reading right there! Paul was “island hopping” in the Aegean, but this was no tourist or shopping spree. He was a “man on a mission” to get to Jerusalem by Shavuot (Pentecost, or the “Feast of Weeks”). He was active, tired and eluding a group that was clearly after him whenever he settled down. His seven teachings to the elders reflect his heart, but also his “state of mind”.

The “Final” Address

Let’s take the balance of this lesson to focus on what Paul told the men that gathered to hear what most believed would be his “final address” to them.

Paul expected hardship:

The first thing Paul told them was to recall his testimony – because that was the practical basis of his instruction. He said:

“You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents.”

Paul lived out his faith in the choices of daily life – and that practice and consistency is what opened the door to people listening to what he said. Any believer would love to be able to say the same about themselves. If we truly want people to hear the message of Jesus from us, we must live the message of Jesus through our lives. When our choices betray our message, people notice. I had to smile at this little story that illustrates this:

A forest ranger is making rounds in a remote part of the wooded reserve when he comes across an unkempt man, sitting at a make-shift campfire, and, to the ranger’s astonishment, eating a fish and a bald eagle. The man is consequently put in jail for the crime. He was soon brought to trial for his crime. The Judge asked the man, “Do you know that eating a bald eagle is a federal offense?” “Yes, I do, Judge,” replied the man, “but if you will let me argue my case, I’ll explain what happened.” “You may proceed.” “I got lost in the woods and hadn’t had anything real to eat for two weeks,” the man explained. “I was so hungry, I was eating plants to stay alive. Next thing I see is a Bald Eagle swooping down at the lake grabbing a fish. I thought ‘If I startled the eagle, I could maybe steal the fish.’ Low and behold, the eagle lighted upon a nearby tree stump to eat the fish. I threw a stone toward the eagle hoping he would drop the fish and fly away. Unfortunately, in my weakened condition, my aim was off, and the rock hit the eagle squarely on his poor little head, and it killed him. I thought long and hard about what had happened, but figured that since I had killed it, I might as well eat it, since it would be more disgraceful to let it rot on the ground.” The Judge says he would take a recess to analyze the defendant’s testimony. Fifteen minutes goes by, and the Judge returns. “Due to the extreme circumstances you were under and because you didn’t intend to kill the eagle, the court will dismiss the charges.” The Judge then leans over the bench and whispers: “If you don’t mind my asking, what does a bald eagle taste like?” “Well, Your Honor, it is hard to explain. I guess the best comparison I can make is, it’s a bit more tender than a California Condor, but lacks the tang of a Spotted Owl.” (From a sermon by J.D. Tutell, He Prepares a Table, 2/3/2011, Sermon Central.com)

Obviously, the man’s choices made clear his value system – and that is true of all of us!

Read the opening words of Paul again, and you will not hear bitterness – just the fact of hardship in his life. He admitted to tears and weakness – you he continued to live without the expectation of peace and harmony while serving God fully. I think this is something believers in our day are just beginning to realize. The words of Jesus run against the grain of our modern culture – and the times ahead bear choppy waves for the one who will walk with God into the storm of culture. These are days for brave men and women – courageous followers of Jesus who will not “get in the face” of people, but will not flee the public square, either. Paul never seemed to expect “if God is in it, things will go smoothly.” I find his expectation instructive in my life.

Paul’s message was specific:

As you continue to read his words, look at verse twenty:

Acts 20:20 “You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. 21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.”

The Apostle reminded the men that his message was one of PERSUASION. He used the word “preach” (kerudzon – to persuade). We must remember that the idea of using God’s Word to persuade men and women is not intolerant, nor pushy. Those words describe HOW one can be guilty of using tactics in persuasion that are wrong. The idea that we are deliberately trying to convince people to walk with God and obey His Word is not cause for embarrassment – it is our core purpose. We are a persuasion and information agency empowered by God and sent to do a job in a dark world that has left God and is plummeting downward toward Hell. Paul’s ministry included persuading people of every background – Jews and Greeks – concerning Christ. His ministry included relentlessly offering a path to God both in private and public settings. He didn’t speak in a home differently than in a hall – it was one message.

Now look at the words he used to describe the message he gave. It was always two-fold: repentance in life and faith in Jesus. Paul didn’t preach a theoretical theology of justification by grace through faith that did not include life surrender. From one end of the Bible to the other, there is no such thing – no matter how often that gets framed as a “salvation by works” by those who want to have Heaven and freedom to choose to live this side of Heaven any way they want.

Paul’s choices were directed:

Paul continued his message and made clear that he went where he was commanded by God, not simply where he desired to go:

Acts 20:22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

The Apostle learned over the course of his walk with God that he needed to constantly follow the Spirit’s leading in spite of the fact that he wasn’t sure of the path ahead. His focused goal was “finishing well the task of spreading the Gospel” as he built the churches without a need to understand where his own trail led. The truth is that is both difficult and unwanted by any of us. We want to prepare for retirement, and then we want to live the dream. We want to save for the things we long to have, and then we want to buy them. We want the path ahead to look brighter, or we are frustrated. We want to live in peace, so we rush through the work day and press to get a “good vacation” periodically. We all do it, and we forget that following God’s path isn’t supposed to be a ramrod experience of heavy lifting. Jesus said His yoke is easy and burden light.

Some of you may recall an old black and white “Andy Griffith” episode on TV about two hundred years ago or so… it was about a business man from Charlotte, NC who had a car break down on the highway some distance outside of the town of Mayberry. The man walked into town on a Sunday afternoon as people were leaving church and was frustrated that no one would fix his car of a Sunday – even for money. He was invited to Sherriff Taylor’s home for dinner, and exploded at the Sheriff and Deputy Barney Fife at “how these people were living in a different time” than the rest of the people in the world. As a hard-driving businessman, he was frustrated at the way the people lived out simplicity and values. By the end of the episode he learned much about his own hard-driving lifestyle, and appreciated the way the simple folks in Mayberry lived. Life in modernity wasn’t half of what it is today, and yet the man was able to glimpse into a less stressed world and learn a few lessons…

Jesus said His “yoke is easy and burden light”. It is worth remembering the yoke is only easy when the yoked one surrenders the direction of the furrows to the one who planned the path. Struggling against the yoke is HARD, and the reason for much Christian exhaustion. Paul learned to follow – and that is what made him an effective leader and spokesman for God.

Paul’s method had purpose:

The Apostle shared with the elders they would likely not see him again, but his conscience was clear because he did the work he was given…

Acts 20:25 “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.

The peace in his heart allowed him to rest in the memories of what he had done among them. He recognized that teaching them all of God’s Word allowed him to place the responsibility for their spiritual walk solely on their shoulders. When people are denied the information – leaders are culpable. When they are carefully instructed in the Word and the application is made clear – followers are responsible to follow God’s will. The tragedy of our times is not primarily found in the resistance of modern disciples to follow the Word of God, but much more in the reticence of preachers to make the Word plain and applicable.

Paul’s expectation was for trouble:

Because Paul didn’t expect God to make life easy, he learned to watch for the work of his enemy while he walked with God. He told the elders to do the same:

Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard!” Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. 32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Leaders know their work is both to follow God, and to shepherd others as they learn to follow Him – but that isn’t all of it. The leadership God provides a congregation are called to defend them against those who would come to harm them and steal some of them away into the bondage of sinful choices and the darkness of deception. It was not a work for those who only knew peace – but a work of guardianship that required acuity in God’s Word and strength of spirit. Paul knew the people didn’t belong to him or the elders – they were God’s people. Yet, he honestly felt the weight of their lives for the time they were entrusted to his care, knowing in the end that they were in the hands of God and His Word. That is how it should be. Bad choices of disciples grieve the hearts of their leaders. What is more, they grieve the Holy Spirit within the heart of the believer who is making the bad choices.

I am amazed that some believers will choose to do something that God’s Word clearly speaks against and justify it with the argument that “they didn’t want to offend anyone” by making a different choice. Perhaps they have forgotten the offense against the Spirit of God? Consider these words from a preacher of yesteryear:

Spell this out in capital letters: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON. He is not enthusiasm. He is not courage. He is not energy. He is not the personification of all good qualities, like Jack Frost is the personification of cold weather. Actually, the Holy Spirit is not the personification of anything…… He has individuality. He is one being and not another. He has will and intelligence. He has hearing. He has knowledge and sympathy and ability to love and see and think. He can hear, speak, desire, grieve and rejoice. He is a Person.” (The Counselor, by A.W. Tozer).

Paul recognized his life was scrutinized:

The Apostle that initiated mission points across Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece and into Illyricum anticipated that his life was on display, not just his words. People weigh in on more than what a teacher says. Paul reminded:

Acts 20:33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Paul’s quote of Jesus isn’t from the Gospels, but rather something Jesus taught him in the desert seminary class. He learned from Jesus not to hunger for the things of this world, but to use them to share Jesus with others. F.B. Meyer in Our Daily Walk made an important point regarding such a daily testimony:

The supreme test of goodness is not in the greater but in the smaller incidents of our character and practice; not what we are when standing in the searchlight of public scrutiny, but when we reach the firelight flicker of our homes; not what we are when some clarion-call rings through the air, summoning us to fight for life and liberty, but our attitude when we are called to sentry-duty in the grey morning, when the watch-fire is burning low. It is impossible to be our best at the supreme moment if character is corroded and eaten into by daily inconsistency, unfaithfulness, and besetting sin.

If Paul wasn’t helpful, he would have been useless to God in building the Kingdom. If Paul was insensitive to needs, his message would have fallen flat in each place he shared of Jesus. If Paul wasn’t hard-working, he would have been constantly in need of help from others to do his own work – making them doubt his veracity. Daily, consistent, caring and compassion matched with hard work will build the respect of others for your life message.

Paul didn’t let the emotional attachments drive him:

Paul loved these guys, but that wasn’t the most important love of his life – and his feelings didn’t drive his choices. Luke recorded of the scene:

Acts 20:36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship. 21:1 After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos.

I love that Luke noted that “we tore ourselves away from them”. That kind of relationship is the kind that has passed through the fire of the foundry together. These men loved the Lord and each other – and the thought they would not be together again this side of glory was heart-breaking. Yet, God had a path for Paul, and another for these men. Neither knew where the path would lead – but they learned to trust God for the future…

A few years ago, a Pastor named Jason Jones shared this story:

In 1949, my father had just returned from the war. On every highway you could see soldiers in uniform hitchhiking home to their families. The thrill of the reunion with his family was soon overshadowed by my grandmother’s illness. There was a problem with her kidneys. The doctors told my father that she needed a blood transfusion immediately or she would not live through the night. Grandmother’s blood type was AB negative, a very rare type. In those days there were no blood banks like there are today. No one in the family had that type blood, and the hospital had not been able to find anyone with that rare type. The doctor gave our family little hope. My Dad decided to head home for a little while to change clothes and then return for the inevitable good-byes. As my father was driving home, he passed a soldier in uniform hitchhiking. Deep in grief, my father was not going to stop. But something compelled him to pull over. The soldier climbed in, but my father never spoke. He just continued driving down the road toward home. The soldier could tell my father was upset as a tear ran down his cheek. The soldier asked about the tear. My father began telling the stranger that his mother was going to die because the hospital couldn’t find anyone who could donate AB negative blood. My father explained that he was just heading home to change clothes. That is when he noticed the soldier’s open hand holding dog tags that read AB negative. The soldier told my father to turn the car around and head back to the hospital. My grandmother lived until 1996, 47 more years. (Source: From a sermon by Jason Jones, “The Lord’s Supper” 7/17/08, sermon central illustrations).

Consider how Paul left their company, tear-stained cheeks all around. God wasn’t finished with Paul – nor with the churches of Asia Minor. The record was left of this simple sermon to remind us…God mightily uses men and women who reflect His values and His message without wavering.

Following His Footsteps: “Taking a Punch” – Mark 6

take punchOne of the most important things a boxer needs to know is how to “take a punch”. Without that knowledge, the rest of his or her boxing abilities won’t amount to much just after the “ding” of the bell at the beginning of round one. It isn’t only about how to deliver a blow to the opponent (though that will help score points for the judges), it is about how to receive a blow and remain standing. Judges take a dim view of boxers who take naps during the fight, and there are no famous narcoleptic boxers. In opening our lesson from the life and ministry of Jesus today, I don’t have in mind the sport of boxing, at this moment, as much as the way this truth about “taking a punch” plays in everyday life. I especially like the words of Bill Cosby, when he said: “Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.” Humor is certainly one great way to cope with the troubles and tough situations of our lives – but there are others. Sometimes the punch hits so hard, laughing isn’t really an option.

In this lesson, we want to look at another way to cope – one taught by Jesus to His Disciples before His departure from them. Jesus helped the men learn endurance in the face of bad news and rising troubles – and He did it primarily through His example. He modeled endurance and poise when bad news arrived so that His disciples had ample opportunity to see how to face adversity and its accompanying fear with a sober but positive spirit. The setting in the Gospels is a time nearing the end of the “Popular Ministry” and the beginning of a series of “withdrawals” of Jesus to the regions further afield from the shores of the Kinnerret (the Sea of Galilee). The stories from this period of ministry can help us understand what a disciple needs to see and experience in order to be matured and ready for a life of service to Jesus – and that is the point of the record. In this section of the Gospel of Mark (found in chapter six), five stories were deliberately strung together to help us examine even further how Jesus trained the Disciples for the work they had ahead in the face of devastating news. None of them knew the scope of the work of the Kingdom – but Jesus did. He knew how to prepare them, and how to leave a record behind that helps us understand how to prepare the “diamond in the rough” follower of Jesus and make him or her into an ambassador for the King of Kings. This string of accounts led to a singular truth…

Key Principle: Real ministry looks past the personal hurt of bad responses to faithfully represent God’s message to people. Some will respond positively, others will not. Our work is the representation – not the outcome.

Let’s face it, that is easier to say than to do. We all want to be affirmed by people around us. At the same time, Jesus didn’t train the men to do what they would naturally do, but what was counter-intuitive. Look at the “training stories”:

Story One: Jesus Returns to Nazareth

After refusing to go out and see His family while preaching in Capernaum, Jesus probably expected a “chilly reception” back in Nazareth – but He went for another visit:

Mark 6:1 Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. 2 When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man [get] these things, and what is [this] wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? 3 “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. 4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his [own] relatives and in his [own] household.” 5 And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching.

There are three parts to the story recorded in these short verses, and each part offers a practical lesson to the modern believer:

The Learning Situation (6:1-2)

The first part of the record recalls the teaching work of Jesus for His Disciples: Jesus intended a learning situation and the disciples were observers of the lesson (6:1). They observed the way people responded to Jesus, because in the future they would need to recognize proper and improper responses. In this case the responses were (6:2-3):

• They were amazed but not open: “From where did He get these things?” They weren’t in disagreement as much as in disbelief of the source.

• They saw wisdom but not its source: “What is this wise teaching given to Him?” They acknowledged the wise words, but not as from God.

• They saw power but it was blunted by familiarity: “What are these miracles wrought by His hands?”

People readily admitted what Jesus said and did caused marvel beyond their expectation. Yet, they assumed He must have taken His teaching from somewhere (or someone) else, as if to discount the message. Here is the truth: One of the oldest methods the enemy has used against truth is to “tag” the bearer with some deficiency (which is usually easy) and thereby discount the message they bring. This is effective against the church – because, after two thousand years of both good and bad works, with both true but errant followers as well as some hucksters that claimed to be followers – there is plenty to complain about in Church history. In modern witness for Jesus, most people aren’t offended at Jesus and what He taught – but rather the flawed and ragged witness of the church over time raises their complaints.

What can we do? Some proclaim the church must somehow make greater strides to “adjust the message of Jesus” to make it more palatable – especially when Jesus doesn’t offer sound bites that fit into the current flow of tolerance laced thinking. Yet, I believe that isn’t the solution at all – because it is focuses on the wrong problem. Let the church focus more on the “proclamation with clarity” of the actual message of Jesus as He gave it, and the world will have opportunity to be invited to Him or offended at Him – that is their choice. In other words, our job isn’t to make the message easier to receive – but nor is it to make it more difficult by living in conflict with His words. The believer must make his or her life choices stay out of the way of clear proclamation of Jesus and His Word. As a result, the believer who lives for Jesus quietly may well help remove an obstacle for the Gospel, while the loud believer who shouts from the street corner the Gospel but does not live in harmony with God’s Word actually detracts from the Gospel. The lesson for the first part of the story is that we must not be derailed when someone attempts to push aside the message of Jesus because someone they know has lived out Jesus badly. We must insist on making the message about what Jesus said and did – for therein is the Gospel. The truth isn’t always found in the church (sadly) but it is always found in the Savior.

The People Reacted (6:3)

The second part of the story recalled the people’s reaction to Jesus. Don’t forget the Disciples were watching and learning from the Master’s responses. The objections to listening fully to His message were simply about His “familiarity” to them. They couldn’t accept that the spectacular words and works were a result of anything His family could have taught Him since they knew His father and mother, sisters and brothers; and they were nothing special. This was instructive, because the Disciples needed to know that it would happen to them in the days ahead – people would see deep truth in their message, but write it off out of familiarity.

It is easy to miss the mistake in the people’s thinking, but critical that we do so. The issue was the identification of the SOURCE of the power and proclamation of Jesus. The people of His town rightly discerned that neither came from Jesus’ family or upbringing (though there is no suggestion that Mary and Joseph hindered the development of Jesus’ righteous path). The issue was one of assumptions on their part. The people didn’t believe GOD was at work in the room where Jesus was – and couldn’t see past their human connections. This was, and is, a common mistake. When one wants an explanation for the Person and work of Jesus – they must look beyond the earth and into the Heavens. The Gospel of John reminds us that “The Word (which was always with God and from the time before time) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory.” Jesus wasn’t a man who discovered God or Divine power – He was God who put on human skin. His coming, according to the New Testament, was deliberate and purposed. The source of His power wasn’t Mary or Joseph – quite the opposite. The “parents” were given the opportunity to participate in the work of the Son- not the other way around.

The Savior Responded (6:4-6)

The third part of the story highlighted what the Disciples truly needed to see – because they would experience the same response later in their respective lives on their different fields of mission. In a word, that is “rejection”. Instead of following Jesus, Mark recorded four details:

1. “The people of Nazareth took offense (Gr. skandalízō – properly, set a snare (“stumbling-block”); (figuratively) “to hinder right conduct or thought; to cause to stumble” – literally, “to fall into a trap”) at Jesus.”
2. “Jesus could do few miracles, only a few healings for the sick.”
3. “Jesus wondered (Gr: thaumázō: in this case a proper translation may be – “He was stunned”) at their unbelief.”
4. “Jesus left them and traveled, teaching in other places nearby.”

The words are much clearer in Greek than in English. The people didn’t merely ignore Jesus, they actively hindered His work among them – so Jesus took His work elsewhere. Perhaps they heckled Him, it isn’t clear. Maybe they told Him they didn’t want “His type” in their town. We simply don’t know what was involved, but we know that rejection by people you love is always painful. In fact, that was the story of Jesus’ whole life. “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not,” the Scriptures remind. At His birth, He was rejected by some of Joe’s family as illegitimate. Now He was rejected as working from and in the power of God by His family friends.

Though what the people did isn’t clear, one of the important truths that IS clear, is that the people did not understand is that Jesus was not pushy – and He still isn’t. He offered life, healing and comfort – but He didn’t shove it down their throats if they didn’t want it. When people didn’t want Him – He withdrew. Consider this: That is the tragedy of our time – that we have seen America open its doors to false thinking and dismiss Jesus from our public square. His exit won’t change His power or His Person – but it will change our public square. It will reduce our ability to spread freedom – for that comes as a byproduct of peace within. It will increase our turmoil as a state, and draw out the most degraded passions of men and attempt to legitimate them as palatable and acceptable. If He stays true to past form, Jesus will quietly move off the scene and take His message to people who want to hear it. The difference between God accomplishing incredible work in your midst and not doing so often comes down to this: Will we see our lives from His perspective and live as though what He said is really true?

We press to keep that message here by inviting Jesus to live in us and through us. We show that we are serious about our desire when we live with Him as our Master. We want to so live, that men and women will see our good works and “glorify our Father in Heaven” – because that is what Jesus told us to do. At the same time, if Jesus withdraws, it will be because the nation asked Him to do so. He will withdraw our sense of moral clarity. He will withdraw our ethical certitude and clear thinking. In our arrogance, we will make arduous rules that will nag us with their basic unfairness. Nationally, we will be reduced to bickering, division and dull thinking in regards to the challenging moral issues of our day. Consider this story from the news this week:

Lizzie Deardon of the British publication “Independent” wrote: “Germany’s national ethics council has called for an end to the criminalization of incest between siblings after examining the case of a man who had four children with his sister…Sexual relations between siblings or between parents and their children are forbidden under section 173 of the German criminal code and offenders can face years in prison. But on Wednesday, the German Ethics Council recommended the section be repealed, arguing that the risk of disability in children is not enough to warrant the law and de-criminalizing incest would not remove the huge social taboo around it. The chairman of the council, Christiane Woopen, was among the 14 members voting in favor of repealing section 173, while nine people voted for the ban to continue and two abstained.”

Notice the word “taboo”, because you will be seeing it more and more as we fade away from “right” and “wrong” thinking, and into the morally relative “stigma” thinking. That is what happens when the truth is dismissed and lies are adopted. The writer doesn’t ask WHY the west has upheld in her past rules on human relationships, because they know the answer – it is in the Bible, and was taught by the church for generations.

Now, when we recognize the direction, we needn’t despair. God sees the hearts of His people, hears our prayers, and knows what we do not! The darkness of a society that embraces lies as truth will set up a clearer distinction between those who follow Jesus and those who do not. God is watching! Consider this story:

One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, “Jump! I’ll catch you.” He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: “Jump! I will catch you.” But the boy protested, “Daddy, I can’t see you.” The father replied, “But I can see you and that’s all that matters.” (Story as told by Donner Atwood).

The simple fact is that some people will reject Jesus – we need to expect this. They did it in front of Him, and they do it now. The Disciples saw it, and they needed to recognize that it wasn’t a rejection of THEM, but a rejection of God’s work among them.

Story Two: The Twelve Sent Out

Continuing with the training of the twelve, Mark explained that after a bad reaction of His hometown crowd, Jesus made His way into the surrounding region with His Disciples watching Him as He taught the crowds. After a short time, He called them together. Mark put it this way:

Mark 6:7 And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; 8 and He instructed them that they should take nothing for [their] journey, except a mere staff– no bread, no bag, no money in their belt—9 but [to] wear sandals; and [He added], “Do not put on two tunics.” 10 And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. 11 “Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.” 12 They went out and preached that [men] should repent. 13 And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

The Disciples were in need of some personal training on the ground, and some of the personal affirmation and excitement that came from participating in care ministry that allowed God’s power to flow through them. Jesus knew what the men needed, and He prepared them to go out with an added endowment of power – for them to have the thrill of God using them (6:7). At the same time, it was necessary to instruct them further in how to prepare themselves. Those instructions included

• Take only a staff to help you walk.
• Don’t take extra food, an extra bag, or extra money.
• Put on your sandals, but don’t take an extra cloak.
• Stay in a home where you are invited.
• Don’t push in a place where your message is not wanted, shake it off and move on.

The men went out. They were preaching a message that sounded like the one some of the men heard from John near the Jordan River some time ago – a message of life change in anticipation of the coming of the King to them. The men validated that the message was “from God” by the signs God empowered them to do in the spiritual realm, as well as the healing God did through them. They were exhilarated by the experience, but more training was necessary.

• They had seen the Master rejected by some and accepted by others.
• They were empowered and saw God use them – but there was more they needed to learn, and Jesus was ready to teach them.

In addition to seeing that some would reject Jesus (in the first story), the Disciples needed to see that some would recognize the power of Jesus, and they would be used of God to lead them to Him!

Story Three: Bad News

Mark 6:14 And King Herod heard [of it], for His name had become well known; and [people] were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” 15 But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “[He is] a prophet, like one of the prophets [of old].” 16 But when Herod heard [of it], he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”

When Jesus sent out the twelve to spread the news of the Kingdom, King Herod Antipas of Galilee heard about the movement that was spreading from the northwest shore of the Kinneret, and now was being preached in communities around the Galilee region. Villages were being stirred in a way they hadn’t seen since Jesus’ cousin preached repentance with dramatic fervor – and I am certain that Herod was having a few “déjà vu” moments as he heard about the work of Jesus. Crowds were gathering and lives were being changed, and that got his attention and started him wondering about the rising teacher’s identity. His relationship with John probably made that interest even more intense. Bleeding through the narrative of Mark 6:14-16 were the three critical issues:

There seemed to be a sustained fame for this popular teacher: “…King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known. (Mark 6:14). Second, speculation about the identity of Jesus was becoming problematic to Herod Antipas, because it was “rattling old skeletons” in his royal closet as the “bones of John the Baptizer” haunted his memory. Finally, there seemed to be a rising suspicion about the intent and message of Jesus, especially as it regarded Herod and his immoral actions (Mark 6:14b-15).

We will not take the time to delve into the “back story” Mark explained in Mark 6:17-32, because the lesson learned by the Disciples is what we are following. In truth, Mark explained the reference to John the Baptizer in a “parenthesis of historical notation” (a story to clarify past events about John and his arrest, etc). The account includes the sad story of “corrupt” parent and a child who became a pawn for a parent’s sick purposes. Mark recorded four important historical notes:

First, John had been illegally arrested some time before by Herod. Mark 6:17 For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

Second, the scorn of Herod’s wife was a major part of the motivation. Mark 6:19a Herodias had a grudge against him…”

Third, there was a rift in the couple because of John which was just the “tip of the iceberg” from what we know of the history: Mark 6:19b “…and wanted to put him to death and could not do so; 20 for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him.

Fourth, the King’s new wife waited for a perfect TIME to make her request – when her husband was feeling particularly macho, and perhaps a bit sensitive about his fear of John. See Mark 6:21: “A strategic day” came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. Note the awkward terms “strategic day” for his birthday. The unfortunate terms lead a reader to conclude something more than a party was planned. The term “eukairos” was simply “the right time” – a sign that John’s murder was premeditated by the wife before the celebration, but not the husband.

John’s head was delivered as a part of the promise of the King, not for any true state purpose (Mark 6:22-25). The King was wealthy and powerful, and appeared to believe the lie that fame and power dismissed them from living by the rules all others have. This is a phenomenon we can observe in powerful and famous people even now. The royal couple was offended that John spoke out and called their sin what it was. They used their power to quash criticism, because they wanted to play by their own rules. They could read the Torah, but they didn’t feel subject to it. What is more, they didn’t want others to have the right to use the Biblical rules to in any way criticize what they were doing. Ultimately, they wanted the freedom to change wrong into right, and force those who knew it was wrong to shut up and start accepting it. They were happy to use the “justice system” and prisons to press their point.

Herod Antipas’s standards were made by what pleased him. You can see that in the stealing of his brother Philip’s wife, by the relative protection he afforded John for a time, and the deal he made with his adopted daughter. People who are led by their appetites are people who weaken any resolve to consistently do right.

The news was heartbreaking to Jesus and was sure to discourage and intimidate His followers. The disciples needed to know that some – particularly people of power – wanted to hear of Jesus, but not to yield to Him. Perhaps they wanted to control His message, or even co-opt it to further their own acceptability.

Story Four: Five Thousand Fed

Another story is dropped into this string:

Mark 6:32 They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves. [The people] saw them going, and many recognized [them] and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. 35 When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and it is already quite late; 36 send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But He answered them, “You give them [something] to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them [something] to eat?” 38 And He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. 40 They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. 41 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed [the food] and broke the loaves and He kept giving [them] to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish. 44 There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.

The Disciples felt they needed to take “alone time with Jesus” to face the news as well as to share the experience they had just come through, but the crowds met them at the retreat place – and that disheartened them further. Tired from travel and ministry, discouraged over bad news, and promised a day off – the boys were captured in this little story uttering the words: “Send them away!” as if it was FOR the crowds they offered that advice. It wasn’t. They wanted rest. Jesus, on the other hand, gave them a job – meeting the needs of the crowd! The twelve baskets gave the disciples what was LEFT OVER, when they truly desired what CAME FIRST.

The Disciples needed to recognize that though some were rejecting God’s message (like King Herod Antipas) there were still many who were desperate for the touch of God – but they were the people that were often overlooked because they came with needs and at a personal price to the bringers of the message.

Story Five: Jesus Walks on the Water

To drive that message home graphically to the disciples, Jesus sent them into the boat to go home, while He made a plan to pray alone on the hills of the northeast slope of the Sea. Everything changed when the men got in trouble:

Mark 6:45 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of [Him] to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. 46 After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray. 47 When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. 48 Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. 49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” 51 Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, 52 for they had not gained any insight from the [incident of] the loaves, but their heart was hardened.

The end of the story tells the key truth instructed in the event. Jesus was going to walk across the Lake on His own and meet them, but they needed help – and that need was given to them to remind them not to look past the needy, and not be arrogant about having God use their hands and feet in the lives of others. They were people – only people – and they could be imperiled in a moment. The Disciples needed to recognize that Jesus came for the needy – and they were needy at their core as well.

Story Six: Healing at Gennesaret

The final account offered a quick snap shot of Jesus back at the grind of ministry:

Mark 6:53 When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. 54 When they got out of the boat, immediately [the people] recognized Him, 55 and ran about that whole country and began to carry here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to the place they heard He was. 56 Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured.

Why include this last little story? The issue was that the Disciples needed to see the ministry didn’t change – just their perspective on people did. They were learning, as we are, that people matter. The “easy to bypass because they are so needy” types abound in our day – but they matter to God. He wanted those who wanted Him – and He still does.

Disciples who know His love and share His love will find there are people who hunger for His love – even if they have been cast off by others who represented Jesus poorly. Consider this lesson about showing the world the Master:

“Many years ago, an evangelist by the name of Jakov arrived at a village in Serbia. He met an elderly man there named Cimmerman, and Jakov began to talk to him of the love of Christ. Cimmerman abruptly interrupted Jakov and told him that he wished to have nothing to do with Christianity. He reminded Jakov of the dreadful history of the church in his town, where church leaders had plundered, exploited, and killed innocent people. “My own nephew was killed by them,” he said, and angrily rejected any effort on Jakov’s part to talk about Christ. He told Jakov, “They wear those elaborate coats and crosses, but their evil designs and lives I cannot ignore.” Jakov replied, “Cimmerman, can I ask you a question? Suppose I were to steal your coat, put it on, and break into a bank. Suppose further that the police sighted me running in the distance but could not catch up with me. One clue, however, put them onto your track: they recognize your coat. What would you say to them if they came to your house and accused you of breaking into the bank?” “I would deny it,” said Cimmerman. And Jakov countered, “‘Ah, but we saw your coat,’ they would say.” But the analogy annoyed Cimmerman, and he ordered Jakov to leave his home. Even so, Jakov continued to return to the village periodically just to befriend Cimmerman, encourage him, and share the love of Christ with him. Finally one day Cimmerman asked, “How does one become a Christian?” Jakov taught him the simple steps of putting his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and Cimmerman got down on his knees and surrendered his life to Christ. As he rose to his feet, wiping his tears, he embraced Jakov and said, “Thank you for being in my life.” And then he pointed to the heavens and whispered, “You wear His coat very well.” (Ravi Zacharias, Can Man Live Without God? Word, 1994).

Real ministry looks past the personal hurt of bad responses to faithfully represent God’s message to people. Some will respond positively, others will not. Our work is the representation – not the outcome.

Following His Footsteps: “So Close and Yet So Far” – Mark 4 and 5

harum1The eighteenth century brought our world a number of revolutions, including the one that formed our own “American experiment”. In addition to country creation, the British colonists (who seemed to have some extra time on their hands) also busied themselves by creating new English terms. One of the words that caught my attention was the word “daredevil” from that period (which makes me want to know what they were doing that was so much fun way back then). The term first showed up in the middle of that century. Another one was inaugurated in about 1751 – the phrase “har•um–scar•um” –which means “irresponsible” or “reckless”. Some may know this term, because they recall the comedy made by Cecil B. DeMille with Elvis Presley that was called by that name.

This comedy movie, “Harum Scarum” was released in 1965 and was supposedly set in Baghdad (but was actually the used set of the blockbuster movie “The King of Kings”). Those were different times. Baghdad was a place you could still laugh about, and Hollywood was making movies celebrating Jesus. The movie was about an American movie star named “Johnny Tyrone” who traveled to the Near East and Persian Gulf to premiere his newest picture. He met a slave girl who was actually the king’s daughter in disguise. Johnny saved the King and married the princess – and then whisked her off to Las Vegas with a whole entourage of the princess’ dancing girls. I confess to you that nothing about the movie plot sounded even vaguely interesting to me, so I didn’t even think of watching it! Yet, there is a movie clip that floated past me on YouTube of Elvis singing a heartfelt song called “So close and yet so far” to Paradise. It was shot through the window of a barred cellar room. Inside sat a misty-eyed and singing man who gazed out of the barred window dressed like a cross between Sinbad the Sailor and Prince “Ali of Babwa”. Apparently he was longing to hold the object of his affection in his arms, because, it seems, when she was in his arms, the world around him was transformed into the Garden of Eden…along with other “mushy” sentiments.

I mention the song because the truth is that we all know what he meant when he said “So close and yet so far!” …The runner that missed the gold by .001 seconds, the pitcher that threw the curve just outside the strike zone – they know what it means. Some things can’t be “close” – they have to be exact. “Almost” works well in horseshoes and hand grenades, but not so much in surgery or anything that has to do with the accounting area. Today’s lesson is about a group that stood next to Jesus, but hadn’t quite understood the role of taking on the ministry after Jesus was gone. They were an “almost” group of disciples – a “half-baked” kosher dozen not yet ready to take over. Jesus was wrestling on a number of fronts, and they weren’t being terribly helpful on any of them – partly because they really didn’t seem to understand what they were supposed to do. Let’s stroll up to the campfire and sit beside them for a few minutes and see if we can get a good view of what was happening with them. This was a group “so close” to Jesus, and yet “so far away” from His purposes, from possessing His heart for the world… BUT WAIT… perhaps as modern disciples we still are in this condition… Many of us have seen Him redeem us; yet we still carry so many problems with us! Follow this truth through the stories we will look at together…

Key Principle: Disciples need to recognize that we serve our Master, we don’t lead Him, and we don’t always understand what He is doing – but we must learn to listen and trust Him. That is what a real disciple does.

In our last lesson (in Matthew 12 and 13) we saw parallel stories of Jesus having a series of Sabbath controversies, and feeling pressured by His family to step out of the limelight, while His disciples struggled with what appeared to be falling numbers and some muted grumbling in the crowds. We pick up the story in Mark’s account explaining the end of that day, as Jesus is tackling a series of problems – all at the same time…

Problem One: Disciples can be more tuned to earthly acceptance than to spiritual truth (Mark 4:33-34).

Mark 4:33 With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; 34 and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.

This connects us to last study in Matthew. Jesus is tired, and His teaching has been going on all day. The crowd has been pressing Him and people have been watching, not only His teaching, but His demeanor. The disciples were unhappy because He didn’t seem to be immediately responsive to what they told Him about the parables and the lack of comprehensible teaching. They wanted Him to LISTEN to them, and get the crowds back on a growth curve by speaking “straight talk” and doing miracles. They weren’t following everything, so they were pretty sure the crowd wasn’t understanding everything either. Jesus pulled them aside and explained His message again, but that didn’t make it clear to the crowd.

Problem Two: Disciples can conclude trouble is a reflection of some lack of care on the Master’s part. (Mark 4:35-41).

While the Master still hadn’t addressed how He was going to adjust His public presentation, He told them to get into the boat. Maybe they thought He would explain there, but He was tired, and He found a pillow on the elevated platform at the stern and took a nap. The text noted it this way:

Mark 4:35 On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. 37 And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. 38 Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. 40 And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Trouble struck. Look how the disciples reacted! They immediately exclaimed: “Don’t you care about us?” How like us they were! The lack of faith appeared to be in Jesus’ ability and in His goodness – and that is at the heart of much of our sin. When we don’t believe God is looking out for us, we start doing it ourselves – and we do a lousy job.

I want to stop and consider something, because we all seem to be at a time of significant worries. The fuel for worry, abundant today in the news, is only active when we burn it inside. We have a choice – we can let it consume our hearts or cast it out to the fire pit through prayer. My God offers a place I actively cast my fears, and face life with His peace. The truth is that my peace isn’t found in the fact that I will be kept from the fires of trouble, but rather from the realization that I will not go into the fire without Him, and cannot be tossed there by any force without His Divine stamp of approval. That is just one of the many great resources of God’s Spirit that is easy to overlook in our day as we succumb to the deception that because something is happening somewhere, I need to stop and fixate my life on it.

For most of the history of the world people didn’t know what was happening all around the globe. The digital age has left people more informed, but doubly stressed. They are convinced they must become everything from qualified CDC consultants to Supreme Court experts – when they have little to do with the outcome of any of those bodies. Let me say it kindly: many of us need to stop. We need to do what we can to be sufficiently informed in prudent behavior – to do what we can to be safe and not stupid, but we need to leave the rest in the hands of the One Who controls what we do not. If I am not part of the solution, then I need only enough information to inform my ‘knee mail’ time.

So, full of worry, the boys took the matter to the Master – but they did it with ATTITUDE. “You don’t care, do You?” Where did they get that idea? I suspect it was because He wasn’t jumping through their hoops before they got on board. He wasn’t changing His presentation, and now they were struggling and He was snoozing.

Note three things about these verse and Jesus’ response:

First, He didn’t bat an eyelash at the trouble before He told it to “knock it off” and the wind and water obeyed. We must say it again and again: “He’s got the whole world in His hands!” We cannot forget that God has not lost control!

Second, Jesus looked right into the eyes of His disciples and called them out: “Why are you afraid? After all we have been through, how can you STILL not believe things are the way I say they are!” Oh how we need to remember, the REAL NEWS doesn’t come on cable or satellite, but from the King of Glory. Things are what HE says they are. Platitudes aside, He isn’t taken by surprise by disease, desperation or desert maniacs.

Third, Jesus let the men alone as they re-gathered their thoughts, and they decided they hadn’t really understood the depths of their Master. That is a good thought for the next time we want to hit the panic button. Perhaps we should stop and ask: “What is God doing right now about this? If I am in distress, my Father is doing something. Have I not considered His power to deliver me? If He doesn’t, what may He be doing? When believers face problems, the test tells them how far they have truly come in their walk with Jesus.

Problem Three: Disciples bring deep and negative prejudice to our walk and don’t see the real issues of contention that are more often in the spiritual world (Mark 5:1-20).

The waters flat and the winds quiet, they arrived at their destination – a Gentile side of the Lake where they never wanted to be after dark.

Mark 5:1 They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. 2 When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, 3 and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. 6 Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; 7 and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” 8 For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 And he [began] to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. 12 [The demons] implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” 13 Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand [of them]; and they were drowned in the sea. 14 Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And [the people] came to see what it was that had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened. 16 Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and [all] about the swine. 17 And they began to implore Him to leave their region. 18 As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. 19 And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and [how] He had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

When we studied the Gospel of Mark together, I made note that: “Great teachers give students an opportunity to learn truth by DOING SOMETHING. Jesus placed the Disciples in an awkward position when He told them to move their eyes from judging the current crowds to looking beyond the small world of their ministry to a lost world. Jesus shook up the boys by doing four things in this passage:

First, He told them to go to a place they felt unsure about as the evening was coming on – the Gentile side of the Lake.

Second, He allowed them to face a problem without appearing to be concerned at all (He was asleep).

Third, He let them draw their own mistaken conclusions: “Master don’t you care?”

Fourth, He solved the problem by addressing using His Word.

The point of the whole exercise was to get the men ready! God always has a point for our suffering, though we don’t often know what it is. Why do “bad things” happen to “good people”? I can think of five reasons without really working very hard at it:

• Sometimes it is the result of MY SIN. As Galatians 6:7 reminds: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”

• Sometimes it is because I live with other sinners and they mess up. Paul noted in Romans 3:9 “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;”

• Sometimes it is because I live in a fallen world. No one was TRYING to fail, and no one did anything in particular that was wrong, but the fallen world is broken. Consider Rom. 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

• Sometimes it is so that God can test me – that I might see who I am and who I am not. Think of passages like Deuteronomy 8:2 “You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”

• Sometimes it is so that God can prepare me to comfort others. Paul noted in 2 Corinthians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

The Disciples in this story were being prepared for a great lesson – that God has work going on well outside of the places they may have considered. God was at work in a battle against both a brutal and vicious enemy, and a fallen world that does not work the way He Created it to work. It was, and still is, fallen and struggles against what God intended.

Follow the progression of Jesus’ encounter with the demoniac for a moment – because it is the closest thing to a “Jewish nightmare” that you will find in the Gospels!

• They went to an unclean area filled with pagans after dark (5:1).
• They were met by a demon-empowered man who was living in the constant defilement of tombs (5:2).
• He was uncontrollable with broken chains hanging from him (5:3-4).
• He was gashed and bleeding (5:5).
• He ran abruptly toward them (5:6).
• Demons spoke from his throat (5:7-8).
• Pigs were eating along the nearby slope (5:11).

And my absolutely most favored part of the story…

The healed man wanted to come home with them (5:18)!

The point of the sequences of the stories of the “storm on the sea” and the “cemetery demoniac” was this: One story set up the trust that the men needed to place in Jesus so that when the second situation occurred – an open struggle against the enemy – Jesus’ men would be “with Him” and more confident. The disciples needed to have confidence in the power of God before they could see the power of the enemy face to face in a place far from home’s security.

With little time to reflect, Jesus turned them around and pushed them to the next encounter…

Problem Four: Disciples get excited when “important people” seem to get on board with the Savior, but don’t understand that to Jesus, everyone counts (Mark 5:21-43).

With only a little nap before He wrestled with demons, Jesus hit the shore again running…Jesus stepped on shore and was met be a crowd, in short order He was approached by a hurting and desperate dad.

Mark 5:21 When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore. 22 One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and on seeing Him, fell at His feet 23 and implored Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.” 24 And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him.

When you look at the story of Jairus, don’t look at it in theory – look at this man. He was one of the synagogue leaders of Capernaum, but he was not like many of the religious elite of his day.

There was no pride in him as he came to Jesus: The words of 5:22 “and on seeing Him, fell at His feet” say it all – Jairus was a broken man; just as the demoniac the night before had been. All ego was sidelined because of a gaping wound – his precious little girl laying on a bed.

He counted on Jesus’ power: The words of 5:23 “come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live” show that he was completely clear about what he thought could and would happen. He believed, hoped, and was relieved that Jesus came back to Capernaum in time to save his little girl!

He was give reasons to waver in his belief: If you skip down to Mark 5:35, you will note that the news that came that would have made even the close followers of Jesus (like Mary and Martha later) doubt “While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?”

His peers didn’t really share his confidence in Jesus: Only a few verses later, Mark reminds us that the NEWS was bad, but their friends and peers were a second reason they easily could have doubted. Mark 5:40 They began laughing at Him. But putting them all out, He took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and entered the room where the child was.

Jesus encouraged the man to believe in spite of the appearances, and later in spite of the crowd. Mark recorded that when the bad news came, Jesus countered it:

Mark 5:36 But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.” 37 And He allowed no one to accompany Him, except Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 They came to the house of the synagogue official; and He saw a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing.

When the man’s peers jeered, Jesus countered: Mark 5:39 And entering in, He said to them, “Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.”

Don’t miss the point in all the detail. Jesus offered HIS WORD, and the belief in HIS WORD and HIS PERSON are all that separated the powerful event from the wounded parents. The parents were surrounded by people who didn’t believe Jesus could raise the child to new life. Jesus raised the child off the sick bed because the parents saw the world the way God said it was – they recognized Jesus as God’s powerful changer. I am making NO STATEMENT that implies that everyone who recognizes the Jesus is Lord will be healed. Nor am I saying that the parent’s belief that God could raise their child was the only factor in the child’s raising. What the passage teaches is this: Jesus is in control of the story of my life – because it isn’t really MY life at all.

We live and die to tell the Master’s story. There is no other greater purpose than to be what I was called to be. When I recognize that God alone has the right to give and take my life – then I can rest in the face of disease and death. I am not absolved of maintaining my body, but in the end neither I, nor any sickness is the master of my life – Jesus alone is. I do not leave the earth one minute before God intends that I should. When we see the world through the Master’s eyes – we see it correctly and His power becomes more obvious to us.

Remember these words…“Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace”. ~Oswald Chambers in Run Today’s Race.

Jesus closed the incident with instructions to the family. Help the girl; get her food. Maintenance of the body is still important even though life is given by Jesus.

Mark 5:41 Taking the child by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded. 43 And He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this, and He said that something should be given her to eat.

You haven’t yet reached the HEART of the story.. I skipped over it in the reading:

Go back to the broken woman we passed by in the street on the way to Jairus’ house… The woman had a traumatic twelve-year bout with illness, was now financially broke and had nothing more she could pursue on her own. Her description was a graphic one:

Mark 5:25 A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, 26 and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse—

Look at the verbs in that verse: ENDURED, SPENT, NOT HELPED, GREW WORSE. The bleakness of her plight draws a dark shadow over her story.

She approached the Master from behind: Mark 5:27 after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. 28 For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.”

Because of her status in the society, she dared not approach Him directly – she was ceremonially unclean. She believed God left her the way she was – and she tried her best to deal with that understanding. Mark used the word “touched” (‘epsato, fr. ‘apto) in reference to Jesus’ garment. There are a half-dozen Greek words translated “touch” in English in the New Testament (Vine). ‘Apto is the word used when a burning lamp or candle is used to ignite another that is unlit. This isn’t simply a passing glance, but a deliberate reaching that continued for a time.

She grabbed a part of His garment called in Greek the “himátion” – His outer cloak; the outer garment worn over the xitōn (“the under-garment worn next to the skin”). Many scholars believe that she was reaching for the tassel of His garment, for it was the symbol of His authority. It may have been that “power” that Jesus recognized He was missing – His tassel that acted also as His ability to charge against the clan’s name and account. The effects were immediately apparent.

First, the woman experienced a healing and recognized that she was now well. Mark 5:29 records: “Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.”

At the same time, Jesus also recognized something – that He was missing something! The Gospel writer recalled: Mark 5:30 Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” 31 And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” 32 And He looked around to see the woman who had done this.

The story in Near Eastern terms may indicate that she accidentally removed the tassel from His garment, and needed to return it. She didn’t mean to take the tassel, but Jesus needed to have it returned. Mark doesn’t elaborate enough to tell for sure, but the story simply offers in Mark 5:33 “But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.”

Now the point of the story, and the reason it is included… the response of Jesus. The answer is in Mark 5:34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”

The woman had a choice to cynically reject another opportunity for healing – but she came to Jesus. She could easily have hidden from her answer and protested to God in her pain – but she came to Jesus. She could have acted like she was not the one who grabbed Him out of embarrassment and a sense of shame because she was unclean – but she came back to Jesus. She believed He could transform her if she could just get close to Him – and He did. It wasn’t PROXIMITY that changed her – it was belief.

Jesus made it clear – it was not the tassel, the top coat of His tunic, or any powerful aura around Him that made the difference – it was her absolute belief in His power and person that made the whole thing work. Jesus was exactly who the Father declared Him to be. He was exactly who He claimed to be. She didn’t need to know HOW Jesus did what He did. She needed to come close and trust Him.

The disciples that saw the whole exchange needed to see it. They were CLOSE but still so FAR from understanding…Maybe this story will help make it clearer:

David, a 2-year old with leukemia, was taken by his mother, Deborah, to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, to see Dr. John Truman who specializes in treating children with cancer and various blood diseases. Dr. Truman’s prognosis was devastating: “He has a 50-50 chance.” The countless clinic visits, the blood tests, the intravenous drugs, the fear and pain–the mother’s ordeal can be almost as bad as the child’s because she must stand by, unable to bear the pain herself. David never cried in the waiting room, and although his friends in the clinic had to hurt him and stick needles in him, he hustled in ahead of his mother with a smile, sure of the welcome he always got. When he was three, David had to have a spinal tap–a painful procedure at any age. It was explained to him that, because he was sick, Dr. Truman had to do something to make him better. “If it hurts, remember it’s because he loves you,” Deborah said. The procedure was horrendous. It took three nurses to hold David still, while he yelled and sobbed and struggled. When it was almost over, the tiny boy, soaked in sweat and tears, looked up at the doctor and gasped, “Thank you, Dr. Tooman, for my hurting.” ~Monica Dickens, Miracles of Courage, 1985.

There is no way the little boy understood the reasons for the medical treatments and the pain they caused – he didn’t need to. He needed to trust the one who DID understand what he needed to go through.

Disciples need to recognize that we serve our Master, we don’t lead Him, and we don’t always understand what He is doing – but we must learn to listen and trust Him.

God on the Move: “Insufficient Evidence to Convict” – 2 Corinthians 1-3

boko1We continue today following the life progress of the Apostle Paul, and we are heading for a note he wrote to the church in Corinth – called in the New Testament “the Second Epistle to the Corinthians”. On the way, I want to mention a story to set the scene…

I took this account from an African Pastor who shared events recently. I was writing notes as he shared, but the paraphrase is my own:

The people sat huddled quietly in the rectangular room lined with bookshelves. Too many for the chairs, they pressed tightly against one another on the floor. Some were crying softly… all were praying. They were seeking God in a moment of extreme need. They were surrounded in a village that was preparing to fall to a vicious enemy that hated them because they claimed to be followers of Christ. They were warned this day might arrive, but as they faced the reality, they could barely speak now. It was too horrible to contemplate – losing their families, their community, their church, their children – all of it. There was no point in trying to fight back – they were grossly out-numbered and without weaponry beyond that in the spiritual realm. They did what they could… they asked God to preserve them if that would bring Him glory, and to let the cup of suffering pass them by if at all possible for His plan. They waited…

Stop for a moment…Let me ask you a question. If the enemy set up a tribunal at a makeshift table outside that room, and you were taken out from that tear-filled, huddling place– pulled from that crowd and put on trial…would the enemy have enough evidence to convict you of following Christ? Is there evidence in your life that you know, love and obey Jesus Christ and His Words as recorded in the Bible?

There is a truth that is so essential to grasp that God lodged it in the heart of the Christian Scriptures, in a letter written after the wearing effects of a firefight in the spiritual realm had left the writer, an Apostle of Jesus named Paul, deeply wounded. It wasn’t wrong to be wounded – because God used his pain to spill out a letter that was deeply personal, and beautifully instructive. At its core, it left us with a truth we want to explore in this lesson…

Key Principle: The work of the Spirit changes the life of the one who truly follows Jesus.

That is a fact. When God touches a stick, it can become a snake. When He touches a rock, it can spew forth like a fountain. When He touches a man or woman – lost in sin and filled with FEAR – He can change that one deep inside. Yet, there is a “catch”. Sticks and rocks don’t fight transformation – believers do. We fight God, even as He is actively transforming us. What shape do we fight to be in? In three words we fight to be in: “the world’s mold”. It is as though the stick resists being a snake and says – use another stick, I don’t want to be changed. Yet, the exciting use of our lives by the Creator happens when we open to being changed into what He intends… and that is our story.

We pick up Paul’s life in Acts 19, during his third mission journey with these words:

Acts 19:21 Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

Paul deeply desired to move ahead in new ministry, drawing more people to Jesus…but the maintenance of the older places was necessary for sustained ministry – and that is ultimately the only kind that really makes a difference long term. The baby churches were under attack, and Paul couldn’t go forward until he strengthened the lines behind him. There was the church at Corinth (though a congregation among whom Paul spent a year and a half during the second mission journey) which had erupted into division, disobedience and defamation of Christ in their publicly unregenerate lifestyles. Meanwhile in Rome young believers hungered for a careful explanation of justification by grace and the implications for daily living. At the very same time, across Galatia some Gentile followers of Jesus were under attack by traveling Jewish teachers that were causing significant defections from the church. In short, the church was getting “pounded” from all sides – and this was not the time for an advance to begin new works. Paul responded initially as:

• He sent some men to carry a message to the people from God – offering them clear direction (cp. 1 Corinthians; Acts 19:21).

• He made plans to visit the center of the problem at Corinth when God enabled him (19:21b).

• He remained in Ephesus and wrote letters of instruction to Rome and Galatia, while praying fervently.

After Paul received word of the people’s response to his first letter in Corinth, he responded again, apparently with a lost letter written to Corinth, sometimes called his “sorrowful letter”. After some time, he wrote a third time (as best we can discern) – and this is the letter we call “Second Corinthians”. We are dropping in on a difficult relationship being played out in writing from a hurting but God-inspired leader. This is very important letter to round out our understanding of the time, and it addresses three primary issues:

• First, it is a letter to offer Paul’s explanation of tardiness for another visit to Corinth. He said he would visit them again, and when he didn’t show up, some who didn’t like his leadership anyway “smelled blood in the water” and attacked his reputation (2 Corinthian 1-7). The first section answers that attack.

• Second, this served as a reminder to the people that Paul still had an expectation concerning them, specifically that they would finish taking up the offering for Jerusalem’s poor and send it as they previously promised they would (2 Corinthians 8-9).

• Third, it was an exhortation to them not to discount his word or his authority as they moved forward – as some were encouraging them to do (2 Corinthians 10-13). Paul made clear he was called by God they were to listen to his words. These were very personal words written by a man who was sustaining one attack after another, but stubbornly refused to roll over and let others take his God-given place in the church away.

Honestly, you cannot study the letters of Paul without understanding how much more PERSONAL than any of the others this one is. It is apparent to me that the issues of the church got under the skin of the Apostle a good bit more than the other churches. I personally believe we need to carefully give Paul a break on that agitation, because of the heinous nature of the sinful punches the enemy and disobedient believers landed on the church. That was a church where division was institutionalized for a time – people didn’t truly love one another and that was “fine” with the leadership. This was a church that boasted about toleration instead of holy living. This was a church that hung the dirty laundry of lawsuits between its members in the middle of the basilica law court of their community – and saw nothing wrong with that. It was, to be kind, a mess of a church.

Look closely at the first part of the letter, because in that section, Paul exposed the key problems in the people’s thinking that became the underlying issues of their whole mixed up situation. He indicated that:

Problem One: Forgetful Christians…They thought: “Out of sight, out of mind” (1:1-11).

Paul opened with an idea: they didn’t seem to be aware of what was really happening with Paul, but were listening to stories about him that weren’t accurate (2 Cor. 1:1-11).

He opened in verses one and two with the standard greeting, and followed it by drawing out that God was the believer’s comfort. He noted in verse five:

1:5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.

After explaining that sufferings were endured to be a witness on their behalf, he made clear how serious the problems he was facing in Asia Minor truly were. Apparently they didn’t know the gravity of the situation:

1:8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came [to us] in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves..

He then enjoined them to be praying for the situation. We can’t know all that was involved, but with what we know of Paul – we know he was beat up and the situation was weighing on him excessively.

Sometimes we operate with an “out of sight out of mind” method in relation to ministry partners. We don’t hear, so we don’t pray. We are preoccupied with other things, and their problems don’t make our radar. Paul wanted them to see that their evaluation of his performance may have to do with the fact they were unaware of the troubles he faced. Let’s be careful to KNOW before we JUDGE what other people are doing. Forgetful Christians jump to conclusions about people without carefully recalling what they observed first hand from their lives.

Problem Two: Naïve Christians…They Were Hearing Voices (1:12-2:4)

Paul broached the idea they forgot the real Paul that was with them for so long, and were listening to voices that replaced and mischaracterized his heart and methods (2 Cor. 1:12-24).

He mentioned in verse twelve that if they really looked back, they would see how he and his team “conducted themselves in the world and toward them.” He urged them to look at what he wrote carefully and compare that with what they knew of him – and not listen to others who were turning him into a cartoon version of himself.

By verse fifteen he began to explain that he “intended” to come to them, but was not able to do it. He recognized that caused some to say he was flip-flopping on his word, so he responded:

1:17 Therefore, I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I? Or what I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, so that with me there will be yes, yes and no, no [at the same time]? 18 But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no.

He argued that God also had a say in what he did, and he was called to follow God’s lead. He truly intended to come, but God showed him something that he couldn’t ignore. He went on to explain:

1:23 But I call God as witness to my soul, that to spare you I did not come again to Corinth.

Paul argued that God made clear to him that coming was a BAD MOVE at that time, and that was why he decided to write a difficult letter that left the whole relationship very strained. He explained:

2:3 This is the very thing I wrote you, so that when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having confidence in you all that my joy would be [the joy] of you all. 4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears...

Paul was essentially saying, “I was deeply upset. I knew it wasn’t good for me to come right then, but rather offer written instructions and give you time to fix things, so we could enjoy each other when I did arrive.” Here is the problem. Paul looked like a chicken in the face of trouble. It appears people took advantage of the waffling and appearance of timidity in the face of dissension.

We cannot back down, but it isn’t easy to confront, either. We care about other believers, and we may be able to roar from a pulpit, but sensitive men and women in ministry do not find confrontation comfortable. Sometimes it isn’t productive. Timing is tremendously important in confrontation. If a woman catches her husband getting out of the car in the driveway at the end of the long work day and say: “Wait until I tell you what your son did today!” while she looks sternly – she is probably going to evoke a negative response in her husband, both about the son and even about her. His response is unfair, but the method was unwise. If a man walks in to a woman who has labored hard all day and criticizes something that wasn’t completely to his satisfaction, he will wound her. There is confrontation – but there is also sensitivity to timing. Paul wasn’t ducking the responsibility – but it looked that way and voices of others used the gap to fill the stage with criticism of Paul. Some of them were naïve about who to listen to when it came to truth. Naïve Christians listen to the loudest or most popular voice in the room, not the one who reasons carefully from God’s Word.

Problem Three: Harsh Christians…Even the forgiven couldn’t forgive well (2 Corinthian 2:5-11).

It isn’t only TIMING for confrontation that needs sensitivity – it is depth of response. We can overreact – all of us. Passion for God can be channeled easily into a “lynch mob for Jesus” if we aren’t careful. That is why we must learn to hurt for the offender, not just the offended. Paul referenced the man who was in sexual sin that he previously told them to “kick out” until he repented of his sin. Apparently, the man was broken by the response of his friends, and came to his senses. The problem was, they weren’t sure how to let him back into their circle. After all, he was a publicly shamed sinner. Paul told them in verses five and six that they were to DRAW HIM BACK IN now that he had turned away from his sin.

Here is the truth: many believers have more enthusiasm about discipline and failure of others than they do of restoration and renewal of others. The get steamed at sin, but not jazzed about repentance. That’s a heart problem… and we all need to guard against it. Paul told them:

2:6 Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which [was] [inflicted] by the majority, 7 so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort [him], otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm [your] love for him…

Paul sternly warned that failure to do so would leave the man and the church open to a new attack of the enemy. Forgiveness and renewal closes the breach left open by sin and the anger that it causes in the offended. Harsh Christians don’t let go – even when it is obvious that the other fellow-sinner hungers to be restored.

Problem Four: Befuddled Christians…They couldn’t read reactions of people to truth (2 Corinthian 2:12-17).

Paul explained that it was true that he wasn’t far from them, but still didn’t stop in to see them in verses twelve to fourteen. He claimed he was following the leading of God, who (like a triumphal procession or parade) was directing them and other believers to make an impact in different places. He used “fragrance” as his illustration when he wrote:

2:15 For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16 to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life…

His point was that people respond differently to the Word of God, and to those who bring it to others. Some hear the words of life and respond. Others hear words of condemnation – they are a sinner, they are required by their Creator to bow to Him – and they react out of arrogance and pride. That message condemns them. It is a message of death, because they won’t give up their sin – not for God or anyone else. They want what they want, everyone be damned. The problem is: they will be damned, and that is heart breaking. Yet, it is their choice. Befuddled Christians think it is their job to make the message smell better to arrogant men – it isn’t. We should be loving, but the message isn’t ours to change even if people think it stinks.

Problem Five: Unchanged Christians…With behaviors unchanged, they think they can add Jesus to their choices (2 Corinthians 3:1)

Paul opened chapter three with the note that their changed lives are the letter of effectiveness of the message of the Gospel in them. Verses one to three make clear that it is not a list of rules that characterize the faith in Jesus – but the changed lives of His followers. Even with their flaws, the followers at Corinth showed real change in many areas, and Paul simple said he possessed:

3:4 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.

Ministry is the process of clearly delivering truth in model and word, and watching as God opens hearts and changes lives. Paul knew HE didn’t do it, because he said:

3:5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as [coming] from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,

At that point in the letter, Paul began to unfold the heart of the whole issue he wanted them to consider. It was our point at the beginning of the lesson. Paul wanted them to face the fact that there should be in the life of every believer life change and transformation that signals that they are, in fact, being sculpted by God’s Spirit. Believers are to be in the process of transformation. If we are living just as we did before we claimed to have come to Jesus – perhaps we didn’t come to Him at all. The difference between a believer and a non-believer is less what they know about Jesus and more what they have surrendered to God to crush and remake in themselves. Many people know much about Jesus, but that knowledge hasn’t caused them to open their heart to God’s work within.

Look at Paul’s next words, because they can seem difficult on first reading in 2 Corinthians 3:6ff:

2 Corinthians 3:6 [speaking of God] “…who also made us adequate [as] servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life…”

Paul said that God made Him a minister of the NEW COVENANT to them in a “spirit” way, not in the literal “letter” way. That deserves some explanation. The New Covenant was a term that came from Isaiah 59 and Jeremiah 31, and in both places it was an agreement for God to change the hearts of the Jewish people and give them the full and complete fulfillment of His promises to them in their own homeland. God repeated the terms of the new covenant “to the household of Israel and of Judah” in Jeremiah 31:27, 31 and 33 (only Israel is mentioned there). It is painfully clear that God was talking to the nation of Israel (Jer. 31:36) and not some loose spiritual substitute. He promised He would give them back their land, and give them His Spirit within – not just the Law without. They would be transformed, and their sinfulness would be a thing of the past. Jesus said the MEANS of that covenant was to be His broken body and shed blood in the Last Supper. Yet, Paul clearly did not believe this was a work already completed, as he made clear in Romans 11 – that the Jewish people would someday in the future all “be saved”. He didn’t believe the “church” replaced Israel’s promise, either, or his words in Romans 11 would make no sense.

Here is the question: If the New Covenant was for Israel, how could Paul claim he was a minister of it to the people at Corinth who were not Jews? The answer is in how he claimed it. He said they were not the LETTER of the agreement (that was for the Jewish people) but they were the SPIRIT of it – the transformation of their lives from the Spirit’s domination inside to the outside.

Just as the Gospel brings the stench of death to those who don’t want to be changed by God, so the ministry of the Law brought the stench of death to many goats, sheep and bulls – because of sinners. The Law was engraved on stone, brought a sacrificial system filled with blood – and yet came with the GLOW of God’s manifest presence!

How much more would the work of God in transformation by His Spirit do to bring glory to God and a glow to changed faces? Moses face glowed with the coming of the Law verses ten to thirteen remind. He needed a veil to cover his face. Yet, sadly, Paul remarked of his Jewish family outside the faith:

2 Corinthians 3:14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. 15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; 16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, [there] is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

Paul argued that his earthly family of Jews still needed to have the transformation happen – and it will one day. For now, the veil that blinds them as a people, which was a judicial move of God over them carefully forewarned by the prophet Joel, wasn’t blocking people (Jew or Gentile) who surrendered to Jesus and allowed God to work on transforming them by God’s Spirit.

Freedom came with the Spirit – I am free to follow God and please Him for the first time in my life when I open my heart to Him. Bondage is self-service; freedom is God-service. A writer for the “New Centurion” Blog posted something that caught my attention:

Bill Irwin, a man who is blind, has a talking computer he uses to study the Bible. He’s had a few chuckles over some of the pronunciations. “For a long time,” Bill says, “the computer pronounced Holy Bible as ’holly bibble’ until I figured out how to modify it.” But there was one thing Bill couldn’t change. The computer uses the Spanish pronunciation for Jesus Christ–HEYsus Krist. “The programmer is Hispanic,” Bill told me with a smile, “and he made sure that HEYsus Krist cannot be altered.” I like that. It reminds us that among the things in life that can be changed to suit our taste, one remains tamper-resistant–we can’t change Jesus. When life is unsettled, we gain great comfort from the Bible’s affirmation that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever”. But the statement is also a stern rebuke to our tendency to try to modify the words and character of Christ when we don’t like what He says. How easy it is to forget that we came to Christ longing for Him to transform us, not the other way around!

Let’s go back to the little tribunal where we began this lesson from the Scriptures. You are kneeling on the ground. An armed man pushes you with the muzzle of his rifle. The man sitting at the card table looks up at you and says…”I have evidence that you claim to belong to Jesus Christ.”

What evidence is there? What is scribbled on the paper before Him?

Was Jesus at the center of your choice of an occupation? Have you used your work to show others Who the Savior is? Is he at the center of your entertainment choices? Does He determine what you will say, what you will sing, what you will laugh at?

Pastor David Welch was preaching on “Life Signs of a Healthy Church” and he offered this insight I think is worth recalling: “Walt Disney was a dreamer. His crowning vision was EPCOT; Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. He envisioned the perfect city of 20,000 using all of the most modern advances technology. One problem, Walt Disney died before his dream was ever realized. His dream was so big and complex and outside the box that no one else in the Disney Company ever caught the dream and had no idea what to do after Walt was gone. What Walt Disney intended as a living breathing perfect city turned out only to be a [mere] entertainment center. Disney’s “World” would only become a place to visit.

Here was the part that I found inspiring…”Jesus left a blueprint for His church so vast, so marvelous, and so innovative. [He instructed and constructed] a living, breathing, expanding organism that would permeate and transform the whole world. The problem is, that as time went on, His followers lost the vision and couldn’t wrap their minds around such a magnificent plan. Rather than a community of loving, passionate followers of Christ dedicated to demonstrating the power of the Christ-transformed life in a dark world, they began to do what they knew best, build buildings and run organizations and develop entertainment centers that would hopefully draw the crowds to hear the story but miss the transforming power of Christ.” (From a sermon by David Welch, Life Signs of a Healthy Church, 10/19/2009 posted at Sermon Central.com).

That wasn’t Jesus’ call. He has never been the theme park building type. He has always been in the transformation business. I want to close this with some words from a few of my favorite authors combined by Francis Chan some time ago:

He was making the point that the transformation of our characters to that of one like Jesus is often A PAINFUL PROCESS. He wrote: “The truth is that the Spirit of the Living God is guaranteed to ask you to go somewhere or do something you wouldn’t normally want or choose to do. The Spirit will lead you to the way of the Cross, as He led Jesus to the cross, and that is definitely not a safe or pretty or comfortable place to be. The Holy Spirit of God will mold you into the person you were made to be. This is often an incredibly painful process that strips you of selfishness, pride, and fear. For a powerful example of this, read in C. S. Lewis’s book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader about the boy, Eustace, who becomes a dragon. In order to become a little boy again, he must undergo a tremendous amount of pain as the dragon skin is peeled away and torn from him. Only after he endures this painful process is he truly transformed from a dragon back into a boy. Sometimes the sin we take on becomes such a part of us that it requires this same kind of ripping and tearing to free us. The Holy Spirit does not seek to hurt us, but He does seek to make us Christ-like, and this can be painful.” (Francis Chan. Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit – pp. 50-51). Kindle Edition.

Let’s be clear: The work of the Spirit changes the life of the one who truly follows Jesus. If you aren’t changing, there are things you should be asking yourself about whether you truly know Him at all.

Following His Footsteps: “The Rock of Offense” – Matthew 12-13

Nicholas 1One of the men that has an infectious testimony presenting Jesus to crowds over the last few years has been a man named Nicholas Vujicic (pronounced VOO-yee-cheech). Born in Melbourne, Australia without any arms or legs on his body, Nicholas refused (even as a young man) to allow his physical condition to limit his lifestyle. Take a moment and imagine his world… living life without hands or feet you would need help with the most basic needs of life, and you would have no ability to ever tenderly embrace your loved ones… it is a sobering thought. It wouldn’t be easy. In fact, according to his testimony, this young man tells a story that was ANYTHING but easy. He struggled through his early life both lonely and depressed. He didn’t WANT to be different from other children… he just WAS – and there was nothing he could do about the difference, but learn to live with it. One day, Nicholas said, he met someone who changed his entire perspective of life, gave him purpose, and promised never to leave him alone… no matter how other people saw him. Nicholas met his Savior Jesus, and saw Him as both Savior and Loving Creator. Since Jesus made him with purpose, he knows now that he lives with purpose. “If only one more person comes to Jesus because of me, my life will be worth it!”

Who can deny that Nicholas found in Jesus a winning perspective on life? How did he do it? He placed Jesus where He belongs – at the center of the answers to our life’s most important questions. He recognized Jesus as both loving and powerful, and didn’t place Jesus at his own feet to explain things in a way that satisfied his temporal longings… so Jesus has worked powerfully through his life – and thousands have had their eternal destiny changed through his message. Limitations that could have driven Nicholas into seclusion and self-hatred, put him on a platform drawing others to Jesus.

Key Principle: When we don’t give Jesus His proper place in our lives, He withdraws His mightiest works, and we can easily end up offended at Him instead of being in awe of Him.

Since the “Fall of man” many of us somehow got the idea that God was made to serve us, and we were made to judge Him and the “job” He was doing running the world – but we have it completely backwards. Somewhere along the line we joined the “league of Job’s friends” and felt ourselves capable to both understand and even grade God’s work in our lives, as if the Almighty sits aloft in Heaven waiting for our approval. Even some believers today have bought into the notion that God must be fair according to whatever sense of fairness our current culture dictates – with little regard to our serious limitations in understanding absolute truth and walking in unstained righteousness. This isn’t a new problem, and in two chapters drawn from the middle of Matthew’s account of the life of Jesus, we can see this illustrated powerfully.

There are five stories that weave together this important lesson – people who “get” Who Jesus is are changed – and people who don’t, if they carefully consider His claims, just get offended by Him:

First, Jesus’ followers picked barley and ate it walking through a field one Sabbath (12:1-8). After some explanation, Jesus simply concluded: “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” His position offended the religious leaders of His day.

A second encounter is presented at the synagogue only a short time later (12:9-21), when a man with a withered hand is healed by Jesus. The leaders were so offended at the healing, they gathered in secret to kill the Savior, causing Him to withdraw from them.

As if in the same setting, Matthew recorded a story of some who brought a demon-possessed man before Jesus, and the Savior healed him (12:22-37). The blind and mute man became the seeing and singing friend! Religious leaders accused Him of having such power in league with the demonic world – but Jesus offered a compelling demonstration of their flawed logic.

A fourth encounter pitted Jesus squarely against those manipulative leaders – as they demanded a sign from the Master (Matthew 12:38-45), but Jesus offered only a coming sign that they themselves would help bring about. Jesus doesn’t “jump through hoops” of demanding and arrogant men.

The final story of the text laps into the next chapter, and offered a quiet reminder of those in the life of Jesus who should have understood Him the best, but were both weak in belief and under pressure to bring Jesus back to the fold. (12:46-13:52). This tiny episode is posed as the backdrop of the seven part “parable of success” (13:1-52) which ended with the tragic words: “A prophet is not without honor EXCEPT in his own town” together with the note that “He didn’t do many works there because of their unbelief.”

Let’s go back and look at the way the stories weave the point together…

The Case of the Hungry Disciples

First, drop into the scene as Jesus’ followers walk along through a field with stomachs growling one Sabbath (12:1-8).

Matthew 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads [of grain] and eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw [this], they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”

This passage always intrigued me. First, I am wondering why the boys didn’t have any bread in their satchel for a moment of hunger. Second, I am trying to figure out why a group of Pharisees are field watching on a Sabbath afternoon, watching what Jesus’ disciples are doing. Aren’t you curious?

The answer to the first question seems simple enough… even lovers of Jesus get the munchies. It may not be a meal time, but disciplines are hard to come by when walking by edibles with a growling stomach. I guess I can let that question go without any trouble.

The answer to the second question came with time around religious people. At first, the whole “watching the fields for violations” thing didn’t make sense to me – but now it is so very simple. Religious people are all about two things: rules and control. They seek to take a standard ostensibly made by God, and apply it distinctly and precisely to the lives of those around them, so as to control their behaviors. Religionists are focused on defending the purity of God by controlling access to God. Followers of Jesus are focused on pointing people to purity by allowing God to transform them – and they claim no control over the process. To an outsider the processes may look the same, but they are altogether different. The “law” referred to in 12:2 is not in the Torah – but in the rabbinic application of the Torah. Everyone sitting at a table in Sabbath had the opportunity to pick apart food and chew it – that didn’t violate any standard. The Torah prohibition against picking grain was to keep people from productive labor – not stop them from chewing on grain as they took a walk on a Sabbath afternoon discussing things with God – which is what the disciples were doing.

Drop your eyes to Jesus’ answer in verse three: 3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, 4 how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? 5 “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? 6 “But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 “But if you had known what this means, I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Jesus made three claims:

• First, a careful reading of the Word would easily show that these men revered people like King David, but overlooked that he violated important principles they held dear.

• Second, in the Torah a priest performs functions that would be a ready violation of the teachings of these rabbis.

• Third, and here is the real heart of the matter, they are in no position to judge what Jesus did or allowed. As God in human skin, He simply didn’t require (nor seek) their approval for an understanding of what He meant by what He commanded. He already understood His Sovereignty – even if they didn’t.

After some explanation, Jesus simply concluded: “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” The fact of His position may well have offended the religious leaders of His day, just as it does in ours, but that wasn’t relevant then – and it isn’t now.

Here is the point of the passage: When Jesus is held in His rightful place – He is Lord over all. Our wants, our desires, our plans and our understanding are all subject to what He says about life. We don’t demand that He follow our rules – we humbly follow His rules… that is why we call Him LORD.

The Case of the Withered Hand

A short time later in the synagogue a man with a withered hand encountered Jesus (12:9-21).

Matthew 12:9 Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And a man [was there] whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”– so that they might accuse Him.

Call me crotchety, but does it bother anyone else that the man with the withered hand doesn’t seem to be anything but “window dressing” to the men who are attempting to entrap the Savior? I have read the account repeatedly, and I cannot grasp even a slight hint of compassion on the part of the leaders for the man in the midst of his emotional and perhaps physical pain.

Contrast that to the imagery Jesus uses to describe what He is going to do…

Matthew 12:11 And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 “How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.

Jesus immediately phrased the man’s situation as one who was “stuck”, entrapped by a problem for which he needed rescue. He cited a well-known rabbinic exception to the Sabbath prohibitions: “If an animal is in need of emergency rescue” and makes the point that the man had more value than the sheep. That would seem obvious, but in that room on that day – it was anything but obvious. The man was being used by leaders to test Jesus – and none of them were voting for the man to be made whole. If I were the man with the withered hand, I would change my friends, and move to a different synagogue if at all possible…

Jesus continued: Matthew 12:13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, [as to] how they might destroy Him. 15 But Jesus, aware of [this], withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, 16 and warned them not to tell who He was. 17 [This was] to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet….”

Can you imagine the scene? The men set up a test with no thought of a man with a withered hand, only to plot to destroy the healthy man that healed him…What a prized group of humanitarians! The leaders were so offended at the audacity of rescuing a hurting man on the day of the week they declared unavailable for that purpose – simply because it violated their amending of God’s law! They concluded that killing this blasphemous and thoroughly uncontrollable prophet was the obvious best course of action. After all, they couldn’t have people just walking around healing people with God’s power with no respect for when and where they were instructed to do it! Matthew concluded that Isaiah’s promise was being made real. Can you hear the prophet calling from the grave, “Oh vey!” Like so many people in life, when these men recognized they couldn’t control Jesus, they were ready to kick Him to the curb. People want a Savior, just as long as He is more like a genie in a lamp and less like a God on a throne.

The Case of the Demon Possessed Man

Perhaps in the same setting, Matthew continued with some who brought a demon-possessed man before Jesus (12:22-37).

Matthew 12:22 “Then a demon-possessed man [who was] blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard [this], they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.

Jesus was in “healing mode” and some friends brought in a demoniac that was blind and mute and placed him before the Master. Jesus delivered the man and gained a new friend who could see and share praises. The crowd was mixed with rejoicers and murmurers, people wondering who the One was in front of them. Fortunately, they had “paid staff” on board, a regular board of “experts” to consult with on Jesus identity. Unfortunately, the “experts” were completely wrong… So Jesus uncovered their flawed thinking and made the situation clear:

First, it is ridiculous that He could be using Satan against himself; that just doesn’t make sense.

Matthew 12:25 “And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 “If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 “If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast [them] out? For this reason they will be your judges.

Second, if it wasn’t from Satan, but rather from God… something very significant was happening right in front of them! If He was moving demons out, He must have power over Satan himself – or the demons wouldn’t budge!

Matthew 12:28 “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 “Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong [man]? And then he will plunder his house.

Third, lines are being drawn – for Jesus and against Jesus– and the choice has consequences.

Matthew 12:30 “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. 31 “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.

In the end, people must decide that the work being done is truly by God to acknowledge God’s presence among them. If they ascribe the work as that of Satan, they will reject the payment Jesus will make on the Cross – and that has devastating consequences.

Fourth, if people sided against Jesus that day, they still had time to change their mind… until they died – then it would be too late.

Matthew 12:32 “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the [age] to come.

Finally, Jesus told them to choose to follow those whose fruits of life are good and wholesome. Listen to their words – if they are poison it is an indicator of “heart troubles”. If the words are sweet and the fruits wholesome – the heart flows with good treasures. Listen to every word, because what they are saying is a good indication of what is inside…

Matthew 12:33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 “The good man brings out of [his] good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of [his] evil treasure what is evil. 36 “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37 “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

In the end, religious leaders accused Jesus of having powers in league with the demonic world – but Jesus offered a compelling demonstration of their flawed logic and helped people listen to their words to examine more of their heart.

The Case of the Demanding Leaders

Nowhere is the wrestling for control more obvious than in the fourth encounter of the passage, where Jesus squarely answered manipulative leaders who demanded a sign from the Master (Matthew 12:38-45). The problem was they wanted to command Jesus to give them a special sign, so that He would show them what they wanted “on cue”. Jesus refused, but offered them a sign of His own choosing:

Matthew 12:38 “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and [yet] no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Obviously, Jesus was unhappy with the behavior and hearts of these leaders, and offered three prophetic words concerning the generation of leaders that stood before Him. Note that all three words were ABOUT THAT GENERATION, as is noted in each verse. Don’t neglect that, or you will draw strange ideas from these words! Jesus said:

First, even the wicked Gentile men of Nineveh that repented will be able to condemn that generation, for in their darkness, yet they fell to their knees and pleaded for God’s mercy.

Matthew 12:41 “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Second, a Gentile Ethiopian Queen will be able to stand in judgment over them for she sought truth from God – and these men denied God’s own word given directly to them!

Matthew 12:42 “[The] Queen of [the] South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

Finally, this generation, by denying the Master before them and remaining unrepentant, was setting itself up for a terrible future. They may have their theology well organized, and may even have some of their former sinfulness set aside, but they were about to be swallowed up by even worse evil than they had ever known.

Matthew 12:43 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find [it]. 44 “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came; and when it comes, it finds [it] unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.

Jesus stood before a generation of Jewish leaders that would answer before God for the rejection they were making – and their future generations would be wounded by their choice. Jesus wept over it, warned about it, and offered them something different – but religion is about control. In the absence of a real relationship with the Father, they could only attempt to organize their belief system, and clean up their disciplines. Little did they know the future would sweep in with such force that their efforts would mean little.

The Case of the Waiting Family

Finally, the last story of the text laps into the next chapter, offering a quiet reminder of those in the life of Jesus who should have understood Him the best, but were both weak in belief and under pressure to bring Jesus back to the fold. (12:46-13:52).

Here is the episode as it is recorded: Matthew 12:46 “While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” 48 But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 50 “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

There it is, Jesus was under pressure from his family, because they were being pressured to shut Him down. Leaders were not happy with Jesus’ seeming defiance. Mark 4 suggests the crowds were less than happy with that they were getting from the messages of Jesus. In that context, Jesus offered a seven step parable concerning the “meaning of success” as He related it to the “Kingdom” He preached in Matthew 13:

1. It is like a sower and seed (v.3-23). After careful analysis of the elements of the story, the truth is, though the sower is good and the seed is good, there is some soil is that bad and some that is good. Not all the seed will produce fruit, because not all the soil is good. The problem is not the messenger (Jesus), nor the message (the Kingdom’s arrival) – the problem in the hearer.

2. It is like a field with wheat and tares (24-30; 36-43). Some of the plants are good, some are bad, because the enemy mixed in bad produce that looks like the good for a season. Both good and bad plants will be dealt with at harvest, but for now the Kingdom will contain both. There will come a time when the house will be cleaned, but that time was not then and the cleaners were not them.

3. It is like a farmer who plants a mustard weed (31-32). Who would take valuable garden space and plant a weed? Only the farmer that cares about a home for birds! His seed will seem foolish, but it will care for a surprise! God’s plan is to care for some that no one was thinking about!

4. It is like a little leaven that changes the whole mix (33). Think of it! Every Jew used leaven regularly in the making of bread. They put the leaven starter dough into the mix and the effect was slow, but irreversible. Such was the word of the King.

5. It is like a “treasure buried in a field” (44). This one, on first glance appears to part with the others. After all, who ever thought of a treasure in a negative light? Jesus did! Look at the other times He talks of treasure (Mt. 12:35) and it becomes clear that it can be either good or evil – some treasure is good, some is bad. Here it appears as something good – one who is committed to the Kingdom will sell all for the mysterious treasure of God! SOME will get the value now!

6. It is like a merchant who finds a special pearl (45-46). Wow, that is beautiful. What could be negative about a pearl? To a Jew, it is beautiful, but the product of an unclean origin – an oyster. What a great image for one like us! Even that from the unclean thing will be bought and brought into the Kingdom when one recognizes its unmatched worth!

7. It is like the dragnet (47-50) that pulls both the kosher and non-kosher into its net, and then casts off that part that is unclean at a later judgment. Good and bad are with us until the judgment – disciples should expect both this side of the judgment day.

Jesus shared that THESE THINGS HAD BEEN A SECRET (13:34-35)! “It is not clear to those who study the Tenach, and have not been clearly revealed before My message. Those who understand the Kingdom will realize it will include that which has been revealed earlier, and that which is new, both of which are treasures” (13:52).

The whole episode was posed as the backdrop which ended with the tragic words: “A prophet is not without honor EXCEPT in his own town” together with the note that “He didn’t do many works there because of their unbelief.”

Remember Nicholas – the armless and legless Australian? When he pushed ahead against God – nothing happened. When he submitted to God… his Creator began to use even his limitations for great purposes!

Pastor Jerry Shirley shared a story that I pass to you, because I think it helps pull these five scenes together into our lesson:

A very wealthy old man had an elaborate collection of Van Gogh and Monet paintings. His only son shared his father’s interest in the rare paintings. They traveled around the world buying these painting wherever they could find them. The son enlisted in the army and was placed in the medical corps. In a severe battle, while carrying a wounded soldier to safety, the son was seriously wounded himself and died. The mother was dead already and the news of the tragedy devastated the old father. He grieved in loneliness for months. One day a knock came at his door and when he responded he found a young man with a package. The young man explained that he was one of the several soldiers that the son had carried to safety. Knowing of his interest in paintings he had painted a picture of the son and presented it to the father. The painting was not rare but was very precious to the old man because it was a good resemblance of his son. The man moved a very valuable painting from the mantle and placed the picture of his son in its place. Hour after hour he sat in a rocker and gazed up at the image of his beloved son. When death came the art collection was put up for sale by auction. Hundreds of collectors came to bid. The auctioneer announced that the will stated that the picture of his son was to be auctioned first. A moan of disappointment could be heard from the crowd. “Let’s get on with the real paintings,” one was heard to say. The son’s picture was held up and the auctioneer cried, “Who will give $100.00, $50.00, $25.00. There was no response. A kind old gentleman in the back asked, “Will you take $10.00.” “Sold,” said the auctioneer. “Good”, cried the crowd. “Now we can get on with the auction.” “Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the auction,” announced the auctioneer. The crowd was puzzled and upset. Then the statement was given. The will declared that the son’s picture was to be sold and the person who took it would get all the rest. The old man who paid $10.00 for the picture of the son was suddenly amazed at the fact that he now owned all the valuable paintings. When a person takes the Son of God, everything God has is included.

Remember, when we don’t give Jesus His proper place in our lives. When we do, He becomes our Savior and our Master.

God on the Move: “A Question of Loyalty” – 1 Corinthians 1-6

nineteen-year-old-mohammed-hamzah-khanFour days ago I sat in Rome and watched a news clip on an Illinois teenager who was arrested the previous Saturday at Chicago’s O’Hare airport attempting to travel to the Middle East to join the barbaric Islamic State. A 19-year-old U.S. citizen from Illinois was arrested and appeared in court facing charges for allegedly attempting to provide material support for a terrorist organization. If convicted, the man could face up to 15 years in prison. The FBI’s Chicago Join Terrorism Task Force revealed he had purchased a ticket to Istanbul, via Vienna. The young man had apparently penned a letter to his family, to be found in his bedroom after he left the country. “My dear parents, there are a number of reasons I will be going to the blessed land of Shaam [Syria] and leaving my home,” the letter says, according to the complaint. Among other things, the letter said, “We are all witness that the western societies are getting more immoral day by day. I do not want my kids being exposed to filth like this.” (One can only shake their head when a comparison of morality can be made to those who behead children… but that is a subject for another time.)

The man’s parents, who were present in court, declined to comment on the case – though I cannot imagine (as a parent) how they could not be mortified at the public exposure to their son’s actions. What caught my attention was that in the court documents, according to the reporter, officials have apparently estimated that around one hundred Americans have traveled for such illegal purposes. I mention this, because it brings up deep feelings in many of us concerning LOYALTY. Some of us truly struggle to see how someone can so deeply benefit from the good things our country has to offer, and respond by joining a heinous group like those filling the streets of the Persian Gulf with terror. Loyalty is a cherished ideal for most of us. Admittedly, the case I mentioned was quite extreme, and in a country of 350 plus million people, there are bound to be some who do the bizarre – so my purpose was not to suggest that massive shifts are happening in our culture. Extremes will always be out on the edge of our society, and every society. Yet, there is a direct connection between this story and our lesson at the beginning of Paul’s writing to the Corinthians.

By any Christian’s standard – at least until this generation – Corinth was an extreme church in aberrant behaviors. They found a way to be on the wrong side of behaviors in very short order, and the confusion that reigned in the place makes me wonder if there wasn’t a Pastoral shepherd some two thousand years ago who was surviving on the Roman version of antacids, and seeing a Greek therapist three times a week to keep himself from going over the edge. If you aren’t familiar with their behaviors, consider this: It was a church that was divided along lines of different teachers they each preferred more than any other. Add to that, they boasted of allowing some “wife swapping” of a man and his son – an incredible “swinger club” that had even the locals wondering what Jesus was all about. In addition, they were settling their disputes in public courts between each other… and all that was before they passed the first communion biscuit. They had loyalty problems – some to each other, and MANY to Jesus and His message. Their case of disloyalty was nearly as morally shocking (in a spiritual way) as attempting to join a terror group is (in a nationalist way). The “Apostle to the Gentiles” took on the work of a vicious enemy in the church – the devil was at work, and Paul answered with care- but he answered. His first letter to the Corinthian church opens with a direct address (now the first six chapters) to the people to understand proper loyalty.

Key Principle: God’s people must understand and apply appropriate loyalty. Without it, they will be ineffective and a hindrance to God’s Kingdom.

As you open your Bible to what we now call “The First Letter to the Corinthians”, travel in your mind’s eye with me to a city at the dividing point between northern and southern Greece. The land truncates at a small strip of land that cuts through the Corinthian Gulf to the west and the Saronic Gulf to the east. The land bridge connected the rugged lands of Sparta on the peninsula in the south to the Athenians in the mainland to the north. During Paul’s life, there was an attempt to cut a canal between the two gulfs to move ships more easily without the “Diolkos” conveyor system they used on land to pass whole ships across the land, but as public works projects go – it wasn’t completed until the 1880’s.

Go into Corinth with me for a few moments – you will quickly identify two things: First, it was a PAGAN town – like most Roman world cities it celebrated the gods of Greek mythology (as adapted by Rome) and the nymphs and demi-gods of common places like water supplies and the like. Second, and this would have been impossible to miss – it was a SEX FILLED town. There was no way to look along the roadway in which naked images would not have been strewn to show various coital positions and techniques – for it was a culture bathed in sexuality. Some may see our time as the same, but the difference was that there was no “off switch” – the statuary was everywhere one could look. This was a town funded by lust. Moral license (Biblically speaking) had become RIGHT in the standard of the city fathers, as they put their own young girls into prostitution as a ‘RESPECTABLE’ answer to the tax needs of the city. Inside such a town Paul, as “the kosher kid from Tarsus” labored for eighteen months to reach people for Jesus and establish a church amid the people living in a sea of darkness and licentious living. The task was HUGE.

Paul DID establish the group, but by the time of the writing of his letter, he was gone to Asia Minor, and he wanted the church to keep growing – but the body was apparently divided and drifting back into license in sexual behaviors. The surprise to the Apostle Paul wasn’t the temptation for the Corinthians to slip into licentious living, but rather how boastful the congregation became at its own tolerance and overt acceptance of sin. It seems that where wrong had long since been deemed right in the eyes of the culture, some in the church wrongly concluded that God was asking them to make it their primary task to accept people as they continued in sin and make them feel loved by the church, instead of expecting repentance to lead to behaviors surrendered to Christ. They appointed themselves to the task of “making God more popular” at the expense of making the transformation of behavior by the Spirit their telltale sign. Unsurprisingly, that method didn’t bring the blessing of God, and the Apostle rebuked them for their wrong direction. Paul needed to engage some who were hostile to his direction. In the process of healing their rift, Paul left us a pattern for the days ahead in our own country.

In a quick overview, Paul’s letter can be read as something like this:

Dear Ones at Corinth, You have misplaced your affections on leaders over the message of God they brought (1-4), confused the preeminence of truth over love (5) and placed the world’s standard over the body instead of Messiah’s holy standards (6). Thanks for sending me your questions! I would like to address the answers concerning your six areas: marriage, divorce and remarriage (7), use of doubtful things (8-10), church symbolic behaviors (11), order and the use of spiritual gifts (12-14), the Resurrection of Jesus (15) and giving – the collection of aid funds (16).

I want to take a few minutes to look at the first half of the letter, because in it is the secret of understanding, building and recognizing proper loyalty in the context of the church. Our pass will be quick, but I hope it will make the point clear:

In chapter one, Paul headed into the issue of loyalty by making clear some underlying foundational statements that we should keep in mind:

First, he established the call of God in his life and his “track record” of following Him.

Just because someone has an insight, doesn’t mean they have earned the trust of people to speak into their lives. He wrote:

1 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother. 1:2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours…

Paul opened with what seems like his standard greeting, so we don’t want to squeeze it too hard. He calls himself an Apostle, as was common – but especially important in sharing tough issues with the Corinthian believers. Though Paul is the author, Sosthenes (Gk: “safe in strength”) was probably the man who carried this letter back to Corinth. One by that name was the chief ruler of the synagogue at Corinth, seized and beaten by the mob in the presence of Gallio, the Roman governor, when he refused to proceed against Paul at the instigation of the Jews (Acts 18:12-17). Could it be that he was later saved? My mind imagines some outreach to him by Paul after he was wounded. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine how he lost power in the religious community when he proved ineffective in persuading the governor. Did Paul step in and help him to lead him to Jesus – it would make a great novel!

My point is this: Mature believers get dirty to get others clean – and that is what Paul and Sosthenes were doing. They didn’t participate in sin, but they didn’t run either. It is worth remembering that men and women who KNOW GOD and WALK WITH GOD are the ones God wants to use to deal with sin. We are not to get holy and get INSULTED from the needs of men. We are to roll up our sleeves and get dirty outside while not drawing the dirt inside. Mother Theresa did with lepers what all of us were called to do with sinners – LOVE THEM without trying to join them.

Dr. Paul Brand, a well-known doctor and author, in his book, titled “In His Image,” writes about his mother. … He writes that when his mother was 75 years old, she was still walking miles every day, visiting the villages in the southern part of India, teaching the people about Jesus. One day, at age 75, she was traveling alone and fell and broke her hip. After two days of just lying there in pain, some workers found her and put her on a makeshift cot and loaded her into their jeep and drove 150 miles over deep rutted roads to find a doctor who could set the broken bones. But the very bumpy ride damaged her bones so badly that her hip never completely healed. He said, “I visited my mother in her mud covered hut several weeks after all of this happened. I watched as she took two bamboo crutches that she had made herself, and moved from one place to another with her feet just dragging behind because she had lost all feeling in them.” He said, “At age 75, with a broken hip, unable to stand on her own two legs, I thought that I made a pretty intelligent suggestion. I suggested that she retire. She turned around and looked at me and said, “Of what value is that? If we try to preserve this body just a few more years and it is not being used for God, of what value is that?” So she kept on working. She kept on riding her donkey to villages until she was 93 years old. At age 93 she couldn’t stay on her donkey anymore. She kept falling off. But she didn’t stop teaching. Indian men would carry her in hammocks from one village to another. And she continued to tell people about Jesus until she died at age 95. Paul writes, “My most vivid memory of my mother is of her propped up against a stone wall as people are coming to her from their homes, schools, and places of work. I can still see the wrinkles in her face, and her skin so tanned by the weather and the heat. “I saw her speaking to those people. I looked at them and saw the sparkle in their eyes, and the smiles on their faces. And I saw them deeply moved by the message of God’s love, spoken by this old woman. I knew what they saw was not an old woman who had passed her prime, but a beautiful person bringing tidings of love straight from heaven.”

Let me say it plainly – we are mature in Christ to become more useful to Christ. Babies can’t solve problems of other babies. We don’t need to run from the world – we need to have more of the WORD in our lives to challenge the WORLD in our lives. When we are maturing, we will be drawn into correction of those behind us – that is the way it has always worked in the body.

Second, he addressed believers with issues of sin, but showed that he truly loved them.

They were not a project, they were brothers and sisters (1:4). After the “grace and peace” greeting (1:3), Paul got personal with them and thanked God for their part in his life. He let them know that he was happy they were a part of the family of God.

1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus.

Third, he addressed the issues of sin, only after assuring them he truly believed in them.

People need to hear the good to be encouraged before they need to hear the correction – it sets the relationship in the right tone. (1:5-7

1 Corinthians 1:5 that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ…

People are getting kicked DOWN all the time. Encouraging a believer is like offering oxygen to a drowning man! We HAVE to remember how much every person counts in our mission to reach a lost world!

Issue One: Misplaced Loyalty (“Men over Message”- 1 Corinthians 1-4)

Drop down to verse ten, where Paul picked up the problem of division. Paul raised the specific examples of the infractions.

1:10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.”

Don’t forget, the pattern of the Scripture is this: When we address believers with issues of sin, we must help them connect their actions to specific violations of Scripture. You and I are not the judge of right and wrong – the Word reveals right and wrong – and the Spirit teaches the Word and drives its truths deeply within.

First, Paul knew some were following leaders like him because they had great STANDING in the work. He personalized the argument as though they followed him and Apollos, but in fact they were following others that Paul did not name. The leaders of the various factions probably demonstrated a similar style of teaching to Paul’s Jewish line of plain argumentation and Apollos’ more eloquent philosophical approach. Paul stated that he is personalizing the reference and not offering a literal argument in 1 Corinthians 4:6.

Second, Paul knew some were following leaders because of their SKILL in the work. These were attracted to the wisdom and eloquence of leaders like Apollos because his argumentation drew new people to Messiah.

Most church divisions in history have divided along the same two lines. Some follow people because of their STANDING in the church. Maybe they are charter members, or maybe they have been historically the most active family or most financially supportive family. The challenge to that group is one who comes in with great SKILL, and through eloquence of talent pulls the hearts of many with them. Paul knew the two parties and the problem: You have misplaced your loyalty. The issue of the Gospel is not the preacher, but the One preached! The believer should glory in the Lord, not the messenger of the Lord (1:10-4:21). We don’t follow talent, eloquence, tradition or treasures – we follow God’s message found in His Word.

Some believers get confused about the STANDARD of truth – that God speaks primarily through, and always in harmony with, His Word. You and I are not the judges of right and wrong – the Word reveals right and wrong.

Paul asked in 1 Corinthians 1:13 “Has Christ been divided?” Think about what Paul was saying. He wanted to know if BOTH SIDES could clearly claim that God was with them – and not with the other. At the heart of the claim was this issue: Jesus has made known where He stands on issues. When we begin to think other voices are equal to Jesus’ Word in our hearts – we are following skill or standing and not truth.

Some believers get confused about what the CENTRAL TRUTH of the body of Christ is – that Jesus and His work is to be elevated above all. He is to be elevated in our DAILY CHOICES as well as our WORSHIP.

Paul went on in 1 Corinthians 1:13b “…Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

Paul wanted to remind the Corinthian believers that JESUS was the One that was crucified for them- and in the name of Jesus they were baptized. He is the center of the Christian faith.

• Our central message cannot become JUSTICE for the POOR. That is a worthy message – but it cannot be the center.

• Our central message cannot be the RESTORATION of former American morality. That is a worthy goal – but it is far from the center of what God has called us to complete.

Paul continued in 1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void…. 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God. 30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”

While we must be careful not to elevate the WORKER above the WORK, we also don’t need to denigrate them. I love the little story: A minister gave an unusual sermon one day, using a peanut to make several important points about the wisdom of God in nature. One of the members greeted him at the door and said, “Very interesting, Pastor. I never expected to learn so much from a nut.” (A-Z sermon illustrator).

One issue the church faces in loyalty is making men more important than the message. Don’t do it. Check what everyone in this pulpit says to you. Read your Bible, and know its truths. Paul concluded the issue of “man over message” with simple words from 1 Corinthians 4:1 “Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”

Issue Two: Misplaced Affection” (“Love over Truth” – 1 Corinthians 5)

Yet, there was a second issue, found in chapter five, that was as deeply divisive and demonstrated rank disloyalty to God in behavior in the church at Corinth. The issue takes a moment to reflect upon, so don’t jump too quickly.

Here is the record: 1 Corinthians 5:1 “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. 2 You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. 3 For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 [I have decided] to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump [of dough]?

On first reading, one can easily see that a man had entered a marital bed with his step mother – a rejection of both Biblical morality and a common Roman sense of decency. This was an egregious violation of sexual morays for the time, and the church not only accepted the man – but boasted of their tolerance in the process. Paul rebuffed the church – not so much for the sin – but for the acceptance of it and the boasting about their toleration of sin. This is a message for our times…

Modern followers of Jesus must seriously consider this truth: Either the Bible will define our morality, or our culturally molded senses will. If the words of the Holy One fail to determine and define truth in our hearts, and right and wrong behaviors in our walk – it will be our own conscience – deeply seared by sin and relentlessly pressed into the world’s mold that will determine what we commend as right and eschew as wrong. A culturally molded morality, unchallenged by God’s Word, will re-shape God Himself in our eyes – and the Almighty will look nothing like the character familiar to Moses, David or Daniel of old. Rather, that “god” will be nothing more than a household idol we have created to appease our religious instincts, hopelessly powerless and helplessly passive.

Paul’s response was simple and direct: Don’t focus on fixing your culture’s view of sexuality – God will deal with that. Rather, maintain the standard of the Word of God in relation to your spiritual family. He wrote this in the end of the chapter:

1 Corinthians 5:13 “But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.”

Paul clearly told Corinth to remove the man who was walking in sin in regards to his sexual behavior (1 Cor. 5:13). Let every church with a rainbow flag take note: God isn’t impressed with your relevance, nor is He delighted by your popularity in current culture. Your “loving toleration” is a mere mask for “refusal to stand by His Word”. You aren’t truly a “loving congregation” when you obscure what God clearly said – you are perpetuating the work of a deceiver – plain and simple. If that sounds wrong, read the end of verse thirteen and ask yourself this question: “Was Paul unloving when he called the man who violated a holy standard of sexuality wicked? Was he wrong to have the man removed from the church?” What has changed in the last two thousand years about the desire of men to change sexual morays to suit their own lusts?

I am not going over the edge on Puritanical judgment – there is a balance here as well. Paul later wrote to restore the man after he repented, because with the Lord there is always love in discipline. The question for our time is this: “Will such disciplines be removed out of a false sense of love and a hunger for cultural acceptance?” If it is, the one who walks in sin will die without correction, and be robbed of his or her productive walk for Jesus – and they will walk into the presence of the Lord only to have the lie unmasked before the King.

Some people just “change the bar (standard)” to make their lifestyle acceptable: The story has been told that Willie Nelson at one time owned a golf course (before the IRS owned Willie Nelson). He said the great thing about owning a golf course was that he could decide what par for each hole was. He pointed at one hole and said, “See that hole there? It’s a par 47. Yesterday I birdied it.”

Sin in the house of God is an affront to God. Paul was horrified that the church leadership was doing nothing. Indeed, they were rather proud of all the other things they had going. God is not interested in the things you’re doing as a church, if the people of the church aren’t living as the church.

Issue Three: “Misplaced Standards” (“World over Word” – 1 Corinthians 6).

A final misplacement that led to a false sense of loyalty was also referenced in Paul’s writing to the church at Corinth. Paul wrote about it this way:

1 Corinthians 6:1 “Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints?

Paul told the believers not to take their legal issues between one another into public courts. He offered FOUR reasons:

First, because of what we WILL BE we must settle our disputes among believers within the circle of believers (6:2-3).

1 Cor. 6:2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?

Paul told them believers will be judges in a future time (6:2). Jesus told the disciples they would sit on the judges seat (Mt. 19:28) because they gave up their future to walk with Him. Paul told Timothy that believers would “reign with Christ” (2 Timothy 2:12), a reference to Revelation 20:4 where believers became the underling judges to Jesus’ Kingdom.

Paul told them believers will judge angels (6:3). 1 Corinthians 11:12 says that our lack of submission can affect the angelic observers. The word judge does not always mean to “condemn” – in this verse it may well be “to distinguish or decide”. A wife may ask her husband to look at some wallpaper for the bathroom and help her “judge” which is best for them.

Paul told them believers should know what they are NOW, and must deal with disputes among believers in the circle of the church (6:4-8).

1. We deal in higher (ultimate) issues in the church (6:4).

2. We have available resources of wisdom within (6:5-6) to keep us from needing outer assistance.

3. We have a higher value system than those without (6:7-8) to be prepared to lose something this side of Heaven to uphold Heaven’s values.

Finally, Paul told believer they should recall what we were in our past (6:9-11). We know sin. We have committed sin. We have hurt people and trashed our reputations before. We don’t belong there anymore! That is what 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 are all about – a walk through “memory lane” of the former way of living…

1 Cor. 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

The fact is: the world does things the EASY WAY: Since the Fall in the garden, it is easier for people to do wrong then to do right. We have to work at doing good and doing wrong just seems to come naturally. It is easier not to pray then to pray; it is easier not to be committed then to be committed. It is easier to have impure thoughts then pure ones. It is easier to not give then to give.

1 Cor. 6:11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

BUT what Jesus did for us can be described this way: We have been washed (apoluo), marked (sanctified as in agiadzo) and freed from further obligation (dikaio).

The story has been often told of Harry Houdini, the famed escape artist from a years back, who issued a challenge wherever he went. He could be locked in any jail cell in the country, he claimed, and set himself free in short order. Always he kept his promise, but one time something went wrong. Houdini entered the jail in his street clothes; the heavy, metal doors clanged shut behind him. He took from his belt a concealed piece of metal, strong and flexible. He set to work immediately, but something seemed to be unusual about this lock. For thirty minutes he worked and got nowhere. An hour passed, and still he had not opened the door. By now he was bathed in sweat and panting in exasperation, but he still could not pick the lock. Finally, after laboring for two hours, Harry Houdini collapsed in frustration and failure against the door he could not unlock. But when he fell against the door, it swung open! It had never been locked at all! But in his mind it was locked, and that was all it took to keep him from opening the door and walking out of the jail cell.

God’s people must understand and apply appropriate loyalty – message over men, truth over tolerance, Word standards over world standards.

You are released from payment to your former life. Jason Jones wrote: During the mighty movements of the Holy Spirit in the Moody-Sankey meetings in Dublin, the worldly father of C.T. Studd was gloriously saved. He invited some of his worldly companions to come to his home so that he could tell them the wonderful news. When one wealthy English sportsman arrived at the railway station he was met by the coachman. He could not wait till he got to the house to know what had happened to his old friend, so he began to question the coachman. ’I hear that something remarkable has happened to your master. I hear he’s got religion. Please tell me about it. In what way is Mr. Studd changed?’ ’Oh,’ said the Irish coachman, ’It’s a revolution. In one sense he is still the same man–he’s in the same body. But the best way I can explain him is he’s a new man in the old skin.’ The new creature receives a new set of appetites and a new set of attitudes. The babe in Christ has now a holy nature with a propensity toward holiness. The things he used to hate, now he loves and the things he used to love; now he hates.”

There are so many things that bind us. As long as we hold on to them, their power over us continues. Don’t let it happen. Fall into His arms.

God on the Move: “The Syrup Principle” – The Epistle of Galatians

uphill_both_ways_in_snow_actionHave you ever tried to push something uphill that couldn’t get traction and rolled back on you? Years ago a heavy snow storm hit Jerusalem, and I had the wonderful privilege of driving up the slope of the west side of Mount Zion toward the Bishop Gobat school property to attend a meeting that I couldn’t seem to arrive at, because the road was unplowed and barely passable. What made matters even worse was the fact that the large boulders that normally marked the side of the road were hidden under the snow drifts, and navigating the road was made even more hazardous by objects that were designed originally as a “safety feature”. I tried to make my way upward, but on several occasions ended up slipping back down the slope, as my tires found no traction on the ice. I hate the feeling that I am putting massive effort into something and slipping backward, don’t you? It reminds me of the frustrating times as a youth when I attempted to rake and back the leaves around my parent’s home, but the wind covered the lawn with newly deposited leaves as fast as I removed and bagged the old leaves. Ugh! How frustrating to work hard at something, and have that sinking feeling – like the faster you bail the boat, the bigger the hole in the bottom becomes.

Bailing was something the Apostle Paul knew – he would easily recognize the sinking feeling I am talking about. Paul was an Apostle charged with overseeing the spread of the Christian message by Jesus. He fought the world for a hearing for his message. He fought Jewish leaders who felt that he had no right to open up a small sub-group of Jews – these so-called “Nazarene people of the Way” – to practices that were not under the oversight and in the veto power of the Chief Priest and Courts of the Rabbinate of Israel. He fought wayward Christians who wanted their salvation to be a statement of both grace for eternity and license for their current desires. On every turn, he fought – and that was no doubt frustrating, tiring and at times, exasperating. He pressed to get the Gospel to new places, but equally pressed to keep the small bands of followers of Jesus on track and following their Savior by the power of the Spirit. He explained how the message of Jesus fit into the prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures, even as he was carefully scrutinized for his every word and action. There was little that looked peaceful from outside the room where Paul was dwelling. This was a hard month in a hard year on a hard journey.

From the west, the Roman believers needed to be exhorted to place themselves in a position of Divine inspection – so Paul wrote to them to get ready to make that decision. From the southwest, Corinth was acting like their misguided notion of “love” for sinners justified a “tolerance” of sin that led to a “sex fest” that would make even modern believers blush – so Paul opened a line of correspondence to them. In the east, Galatian believers were slipping away from the message of justification backward toward an expansion of the Temple’s authority over the church – and losing Gentiles in the process (who felt the message was misrepresented to them). It is on this last group we want to focus in this lesson – in the letter to the Galatian believers. It was written under fire, and Paul was responding to an attack on the Gospel by lost me without and confused men within the group. Paul had something he wanted to say to them – but God said something even bigger in the example of the letter…

Key Principle: When the core message of the church is under attack, there is a consistent and godly way to respond.

Travel back in time for a few minutes to join Paul’s mission team in Ephesus, during the third mission journey, and note how anxious he seems to be to get moving west toward Macedonia, then Corinth in Achaia, and finally to Rome. He couldn’t leave – because the churches were being attacked by “spiritual sharks” that were tearing away at everything his first two mission journeys had produced (from a human perspective). He was sharing the message of the Gospel, and it was both shattering darkness with its light and drawing the bugs that always show up to a flame in a dark place. It was piercing the armor of rebellious men with the arrows of truth – and that was a threat to them. Paul’s message was being challenged in some places, but in Galatia it was being burdened with mythology, and laden with misunderstanding.

Introducing the Syrup Method

syrup1I really like maple syrup, but a few years ago I had the opportunity to taste maple sap… and I was very disappointed. It wasn’t very “maple-ee” and it wasn’t very sweet. In fact, it tasted a little like sassafras root with the dirt still on it – something I remember from Cub Scout campouts as a kid. What I found out was this: to really get the flavor, you have to distill the maple sap and get rid of the water to get it down to the viscous syrup form – that is where the flavor is. I am not suggesting for a moment that God wastes words in the Bible. At the same time, I want to readily admit that an epistle is like a closing argument delivered to a jury – seeking the conviction of the heart and the commitment to godliness. Every word God used is important, but it is possible to get the distilled argument of the text in fewer words. That is what I want to try to do with you in this lesson if we can: get to the heart of the six chapters of Galatians by boiling the argument down to essential elements.

Step One: Collecting the sap; gathering truth in a bucket.

To do this, I want to pick out key sentences and phrases. This isn’t random – it is based on a very systematic and careful study of each line. We are distilling, but we are also in need of the essential “bones” of structure of Paul’s argument. Let’s see if we can do this is a few minutes together…

Chapter One

Paul and his team opened with words about who they were, and who the letter was addressed to – those who had given their heart to Jesus and were living in Galatia. Verse four offered an important word about the purpose of the work of Jesus that will be addressed later in the letter – that He came to rescue us from this evil age. The fact Paul pointed to was this: commitment to Jesus isn’t just about afterlife – but about how we live now. We are not to be victims of the crashing waves of evil in this life.

The next paragraph (1:6-9) set up the argument with Paul’s emotional reaction to what he has heard about the believers in their region: Paul was shocked at how quickly they were being drawn away from the message of justification before God entirely based on the work of Jesus. He hammered the word “Gospel” in verse 6, again in 7, again in 8 and again in 9. He made the point that the Good News had come to them – and there was nothing better to expect. He wouldn’t back down, even if it would take pressure off of him and make him more widely popular (1:10).

He wanted them to recognize that the Gospel he preached to them was not from men, but rather “through a revelation of Jesus” (1:12). Paul’s background in Judaism didn’t create it, but God met him, called him and taught him (1:13-17). He was three years a follower of Jesus before he ever met the leadership in Jerusalem (1:18-24).

Chapter one, then offered three points to Paul’s statement of truth to the Galatians:

• The Gospel affects now – not just when we die.

• The message of the Gospel was specific and measurable content – and departure from it could be reckoned. It wasn’t so experiential that one could not identify its truths as well as stand opposed to what varied from that message.

• The message source was from God – not men. It wasn’t put together by a committee, and could not be disassembled by one without departing the truth and ending in error.

In essence, the first chapter was about the definition, source and demand of the Gospel. It held specific content, it came from God and it wasn’t limited to things that start at death.

Chapter Two

Continuing his argument in the second chapter, Paul reminded the readers that he “went up fourteen years after coming to Jesus” (to the Jerusalem Council in 50 CE- Acts 15), and had the Gospel he was preaching thoroughly evaluated. He was joined by Barnabas and Titus (2:1-2). When men saw that Titus was born of a Gentile family, they didn’t expect him to be circumcised or to play at being like a Jew – though some false brothers tried to press the case (2:3-4). The “truth of the Gospel” was at stake – and we didn’t let them gain any standing at all (2:5-6). The other leaders saw God was at work in this, and they agreed with me and shook my hand publicly (2:7-10).

“It wasn’t all easy,” Paul wrote. He explained that Peter was adding rabbinic standards of separation to his life when Jewish men came from Judea, and that confused the Gospel message – because they had been teaching that Gentiles who came to Jesus were fully accepted in spite of the fact that they didn’t keep the regulations given to Jews (2:11-14). Paul even detailed some of the argument he made with Peter. He told him, according to Paul’s record – since the diaspora (dispersion of Jews) it has become nearly impossible for us to make it to the Temple three times a year (as commanded in Deuteronomy 16:16) and we were born Jews. Why in the world are you trying to make these who were not born under these regulations join us in this nearly impossible task! (2:15-7). Temple worship and atonement law offered nothing to one who died with Christ and was justified totally through Him (2:18-21).

Chapter two, then, offered two additional point:

• Paul’s message thoroughly checked and publicly endorsed by the leadership of the church. They acknowledged Gentiles didn’t needed to join the atonement system or markers of the Jewish people.

• He made clear that some leaders confused the message and he confronted them to clarify the teaching: full acceptance by God because of faith in the completed work of Jesus was all that was required – and any breach of that was a breach in the Gospel message.

The bottom line of the second chapter was this: Paul’s message was endorsed and any teaching to the contrary was corrected when leaders discovered it.

Chapter Three

As chapter three opened, Paul left his walk down memory lane and went back to his argument concerning the faith of the Galatians. He asked them if the “got the Spirit by the works of the Law” or if their acceptance of the Gospel message was sufficient (3:1-5). He pressed the truth that before atonement law, God already established a simple pattern – believe me and that is what I will count (3:6-10). Paul made clear that nothing in the atonement law could offer salvation now – because the justification work of Jesus was complete (3:6-13). God was working in his time to bless the Gentile world with direct access to God apart from the atonement system – because of Jesus’ completed work (3:14-18). The atonement law set a pattern, but the Promised One completed the whole work (3:19-25). Sons of God now had direct access by belief in Jesus – nothing more was necessary (3:26-29).

Paul reminded them of their reception of the Spirit based solely on belief in the justification message alone.

In essence, Paul made clear that there was nothing MORE than full acceptance – and nothing greater to be received if one participated in the atonement system now that direct access to God had been provided apart from the Temple and Jewish people.

Chapter Four

Chapter four reminded that they “…were in bondage (4:3) …but God sent forth His Son” (4:4-5). They became sons in the Spirit, and they should not be anxious to go backward into the atonement laws that included killing animals and making sacrifices (4:6-9). He was concerned… they were learning how to meticulously practice all the things that were replaced in the atonement law and that was going to truly hurt their understanding of the Gospel (4:10-20). He challenged them: “If you want to be under all that is involved in the atonement laws, do you TRULY know them?” (4:21).

He argued: “If you look at Abraham’s life, you can see a dramatic rendering of the way of fleshly answers to a problem and the way of the Spirit’s answer. In Hagar and Ishmael, you see human effort expended. In Isaac you find God at work without man’s help – and that is what the Good News of Jesus is all about (4:22-28). “Besides”, he argued, “flesh always persecutes Spirit, so you should cast out those who want to take you back into that world.” (4:29-31).

The Apostle added two more lines to his reasoned speech:

• He reminded the people they were in darkness before Jesus, but were set free in Him – and the practices of the atonement system would only distract them from recognizing the access through faith.

• He warned them that flesh participation had distracted his ancestors –because many missed the role faith played and substituted “actions” for “heart belief”. Now some argued against faith – because in acceptance by God – the flesh has always opposed the spirit.

In essence, when men do anything to participate in the process of becoming acceptable to God, they begin to believe it is their participation, and not God’s grace alone, that makes healing the breach possible – but that isn’t true. It is always by grace (unmerited favor), through faith (acceptance that what God says is true – is true indeed).

Chapter Five

In chapter five Paul commanded them to remain firmly rooted in the “Gospel of Justification” by grace through faith in the work of Jesus alone – and not allow anyone to drag them back into the atonement laws and their sacrificial solutions (5:1-6). “Who is making you go back?” Paul again asked (5:7-8). He told them he “had confidence” they would remain (5:10) and that the taste of freedom held a danger they must also be aware of – the danger of allowing justification to authorize license in their behaviors (5:13). The answer was not a new list of rules, but rather allowing the Spirit of God to work in them (5:16) to help them navigate life. The Spirit was opposed to the flesh, and the atonement laws – which required the participation of the flesh- would only confuse them (5:17-18). He enumerated the traits that showed licentiousness of the flesh (5:19-21) and contrasted them with the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-26).

The Apostle told them two more important things:

• He made clear they should stick to the message and not divert to the older atonement system – acceptance by God has already been secured.

• He warned that emphasis on the flesh would lead to powerful waves of fleshly activity in their midst, while emphasis on the Spirit would yield great freedoms and unity.

In essence, Paul made clear his point – don’t change – and then made clear the consequences of teaching the participation of the flesh in the message of the acceptance of God. It won’t end well – but be swamped by sin and darkness. Emphasizing the Spirit led to freedom and unity.

Chapter Six

In the final part of the letter, Paul called upon believers to help each other with their struggle to walk with God (6:1-4) while taking responsibility for their own issues (6:5). They were to be careful to receive from those who carefully studied God’s word, and recognize that there was a coming consequence to ignoring truth (6:5-8). They were to stay at the task and not become weary doing right (6:9-10). He closed the letter reminding them it was truly from his hand (6:11) and that there were those who would try to pry them from the truth – but he placed all his hope and trust in the finished work of Jesus at the Cross (6:12-15). He wanted peace, particularly with the Jewish believers in Jesus that were confused and confusing them – he wanted this discussion to end (6:16-18).

The final words of Paul’s argument were these:

• Show the Spirit at work as you work together, each taking responsibility for yourselves and yet helping each other.

• Listen to the Word and stay at the work of doing right – they mustn’t let anyone pry them away from the full acceptance of God through faith.

• He wanted peace, especially with Jewish believers, but truly wanted this discussion to be laid to rest in Galatia.

In essence, it was time to make the choice to set aside this distraction. Peace was desired, but not at the expense of walking in truth.

Step Two: Put the Sap on the Stove; reducing sap to syrup

Look yet one more time at the whole of Paul’s argument – this time with an eye toward what Paul DID to defend the central truth under attack in the faith:

In chapter one: He defined the Gospel, its source and the fact that is places demands on the living – not just the dead.

Here, Paul defined the problem. In this case, the issue was the definition and content of the message as to how a man or woman becomes acceptable to God. The issue was clear – God is holy and we are not. What to do? God made full acceptance and direct access to Him via the completed payment of Jesus at Calvary – but some wanted to go back to the older atonement system because it made them feel they were allowed to participate in the process, and gave the Jewish leadership at the Temple some continued control over the process. Paul made clear the message that was under attack

In chapter two: Paul addressed the charge that his message was rogue.

The second step Paul used was to look backward to those in whom God had given earlier direction. In his case, it was church leaders in Jerusalem. In our case, it would be the men and women recorded in the Scripture. When a core message of our faith is under attack, we should become thoroughly versed in the Scripture, and point people to how what we are saying is a continuation of that message. They may reject that message, but we should strive to show that we are KEEPING the committed charge of the Scriptures – and not altering them.

In chapter three: Paul laid to rest that the truth needed to be amended – or even could be.

The Apostle made clear that there was nothing MORE than full acceptance. He pressed that no one had the right to add to the ideas that God made clear were the completed truth. When a core message is under attack, we must make clear that “adjusting” God’s prescribed truth is nothing less than leaving the truth of the Creator.

In chapter four: Paul connected the dangers of consequences if they pursued the way of thinking that led them away from the message they received from him.

He made clear that in the case of judging between the atonement system and justification by faith alone there was a clear danger. When men do anything to participate in the process of becoming acceptable to God, they begin to believe it is their participation, and not God’s grace alone, and they end up in the wrong place. Instead of gratefulness, arrogance becomes easy. When a core message component comes under attack – it is essential that leaders make clear the damaging consequences of embracing a lie in place of the truth.

In chapter five: Paul called the people to “stick to their guns”.

He pressed them to stand for the truth and further warned of allowing the “flesh message” (regressive participation in the atonement system) in the message of the acceptance of God. He offered the negative of the flesh’s grab on their hearts, and contrasted the freedom of the Spirit’s work in an through them. When there is an attack on the core principles of the Scriptures among us, leaders should openly and unapologetically call people to stand with the truth. We cannot shrink back and hope for the best.

In chapter six: Paul told them he wanted peace, but not at the expense of truth.

As he told them it was time to make the choice, he assured them that peace was desired, but not by acquiescing to lies. When a core principle or truth of our faith is under attack, peace is NOT more important than standing for the truth of the Scriptures. They are God’s Word – and we have no right to “adjust them” to make people more comfortable. Jesus came to give us direct access to a relationship with the Father in Heaven – but no other earthly relationship can become as important to us as that one – or we are not His disciple at all.

Behold the Syrup!

There is our method of defense of God’s truth, as modeled by Paul in the first century:

  • Define God’s message and the problem of the challenge.
  • Make clear that you are sticking to the Scriptures and not departing from them.
  • Make clear that no one has the right to amend the Scriptural teaching (not even you).
  • Connect the dots to some of the dangers if the wrong line is followed.
  • Don’t back down because God’s teaching is unpopular; rather recognize the Spirit will be present to help you make things clear through words and lifestyle.
  • Don’t make peace your primary goal, but clarity about what God said in His Word.

Step Three: Pouring Syrup; how we “cover” the issues of our day

First, we need to be careful about the separation of issues of conviction (things the Bible addressed indirectly through principle) and core message (things the Bible specifically teaches).

You may be a Republican or a Democrat. You may drink alcohol on occasion or believe that one should completely abstain because of the potential damage it can cause your life. You may believe in gun control or an absolute right to have a rifle hanging in your shed. You may think people shouldn’t date but rather have their parents arrange their marriage. You may like Breyer’s ice cream or you may think the generic is just as good. You may like rainy days, or you may loathe them… these aren’t issues that are directly ascribed in the text of the Bible – no matter how clear they are in your mind. They are indirectly addressed by principles. They aren’t unimportant, but they aren’t the core of our message. Don’t make them some kind of litmus test on Christianity, and don’t proclaim them with the force of the Bible. Peter thought the rabbinic laws about “who to eat with” were equal to the Biblical rules for the Jewish people as to what to eat – and he was corrected. His dilution of the message of the Gospel affected people’s reception of Jesus – and some were turned away from the Gospel.

Let me say it clearly: make a separation in every public forum (personal discussions to Facebook posts) between what your informed view has come to be because of an indirect (even if in depth) teaching of the Scripture’s principles and the defense of the core message the Bible teaches. This is important. Don’t represent your view of issues as God’s view, unless the text offers specific and direct teaching on that issue. If you believe there are principles from God’s Word, then apply them as that – principles. For instance, it wouldn’t be wrong to say:

“This position of this particular political party doesn’t seem to me to square with the principle in God’s Word that I got when I was studying these verses. I cannot put them together, and so I am not a part of that group.”

Is that getting “wishy-washy” on the truth as we need to stand on it today? Not at all! Let me illustrate:

Many modern issues are re-worked attacks against core truths of Scripture from long ago:

The attempt to re-define marriage isn’t new – just the approach that people are using. The actual battle isn’t over the definition – but WHAT FOUNDATION our modern country should use to define its most precious concepts and identity issues. Christians want to keep a Judeo-Christian foundation for the definitions, while others would like any reference to that system to be expunged from the history of the nation and re-frame the issue as a secularist and values neutral group making small adaptations to their understanding of family definition. The Bible DOES say how a family came into being, what it is and what it is not. We have direct, specific teaching of what a marriage is and what it pictures. It isn’t an opinion – it is the defense of what the text actually argues.

The attempt to separate sexual identity and gender behaviors is also a direct teaching from the text of Scripture. When David told Solomon to “act like a man” there were direct and measurable ways in which that could be perceived. The purposes of human sexuality are not left in the background of a shadowy text – they are addressed directly and forcefully in many places. We aren’t offering opinion, we are defending the literal statements of the text.

When even the most educated in our society seem unable to identify simple issues like “What is evil?” and “What is a terrorist?” we have recourse. The Bible is neither silent on the issue of evil, nor is it unclear where it came from and how to see it in daily life. When we call it evil, we aren’t being intolerant – we are defending the black letters of the page of Scripture. Individuals acting to kill or imperil non-combatants to offer protest to authority is wrong –always. They may be right in the point they are making, but the Bible specifically and carefully shows ways to make change that don’t include imperiling innocent parties. Even in war, God weighed in with specific rules – we can and should be vocal about things that violate these direct principles from the Word.

When people try to obscure the purpose of the Gospel, teaching that it has as a primary purpose the gaining of riches in this present world – we should take a clear and vocal stand against the corruption of Scripture. It doesn’t matter if the proclamation is from a stadium or a glass cathedral that cost millions – the Scripture directly addressed what the Gospel is: direct access to God through full trust in the completed work of Jesus alone. It is not a direct access to material wealth – and never has been. That is a corruption, and that is not an opinion – it is a defense of the text.

When someone attempts to enshrine selfishness as a virtue and argues that the unborn are not “people” and do not have any “right to life” – the Bible directly weighs in. God held the unborn as worthy of defense in the Law. He revealed that He chose people before they were born for various specific tasks. He made clear that His image stamp on them is what gave them value. He called killing the unborn a crime worthy of death… we aren’t being political, we are defending the Book as we should. We need to love those who have made that choice in their past – because they cannot undue it. Yet, we cannot make the choice one that God approved. It was wrong, and it requires repentance and payment by the blood of Jesus at Calvary.

Finally, before we POUR THE SYRUP of the Galatian truths on issues, we must be clear and Biblically sound in our approach to what the church of Jesus Christ actually IS and IS NOT. The church isn’t primarily a daycare facility designed to teach morals to working people’s children. It isn’t primarily a counseling center designed to offer self-help Scripture to help people navigate life better in the midst of growing darkness. It isn’t a place for religious people to get together and measure how we are doing on “keeping the rules” of our faith – some busybody’s paradise. The church is primarily a place where transformation occurs over time by constant exposure to the Word of God. We become a family, we nurture people that hurt in a healing place, we join together to meet God together in worship, and we gather in a place to meet people like ourselves, to belong – but that isn’t WHAT WE ARE. We are people who were SINGLE who are in an engagement period to learn to become a spotless Bride for our coming Savior. Every function we have is subject to that Biblically explained core reason for existence. We are a BRIDAL TRAINING school awaiting the coming of our Bridegroom.

The church offers the Gospel to lost men, women and children – but that is a function of our obedience – and not our primary identity. We help the struggling in obedience. We serve Jesus by serving others… but those aren’t the primary functions of the church. Worship, instruction, fellowship and evangelism are directed toward transformation by the Spirit through the Word – in order that we might become a prepared bride.

When the core message of the church is under attack, there is a consistent and godly way to respond – and we must use it.

Following His Footsteps: “The Truth Within” – Luke 7

truth within2Have you ever had someone suggest to you that you could find the truth about life WITHIN yourself? The other day I was invited to watch a motivational seminar on video by a Christian friend who thought I could really gain some insight from a well-known speaker. Because I know this friend well, I put it on the list of things I do for personal growth, and when it got to the top of the stack, I watched it. The man was entertaining and informative, and I found some of the information quite useful, that is, until he journeyed into “self as a source of truth.” That idea troubled me. There are many spiritual and religious groups that suggest that truth is found “within” a man or woman – many Buddhists believe this, and the Gnostics of the early centuries of Christianity taught it as well. They believed that “real truth” was sparked inside a person when they confronted the Almighty and had an incredible experience that led to the truth.

Students of the Bible – especially those who appreciate literalism – have generally dismissed that thought, and turned people to the fact that the truth is found in Jesus Who called Himself that very title: “The Truth”. In Him, we know, is the answer – in His purposes for us. If you think carefully and deeply, I think there IS an important truth that you can discover within you… but it isn’t the answer to a question – it is the problem we face. I believe that if you look inside – you will see that we are broken people, but we are also stubborn people. We can’t find the answer to our brokenness within – that truly IS found only in Messiah; but we can discover the problem – the fact of our brokenness, closely guarded by our stubborn pride.

We like to think of ourselves as competent. As Christians, we like to think of ourselves as vessels usable to our Master. Yet, if you ask almost any Christian they will tell you that for much of their life they admit to stubborn, self-oriented decision making. We who know Jesus also know ourselves – for when He came into our lives, the truth of who we are – and who we are NOT – became evident. That is a hard side of our faith… Inside each of us we wrestle with the pride and ego that hinders us from the continual surrender that invites God to work at transforming us – and for much of our life our stubborn resistance is our single greatest foe.

Key Principle: God draws near to one who opens their heart, but withdraws from one who refuses Him entrance.

There is a portion of Jesus’ ministry that highlighted the battle within those who met Jesus– the fight to surrender to God’s control – we want to continue our look at lessons in the life of Jesus with a brief stop in Luke 7. That passage is carefully framed around stories of five encounters between Jesus and people. For this lesson, let’s look at how Jesus dealt with people, and what hindered some people from really gaining the full benefit of standing face to face with God in human skin. Look at each of the five encounters. They were:

1. Jesus and the Humble Gentile: The Open Reverence of the Needy Centurion (Lk. 7:1-10).

2. Jesus and the Helpless Widow: The Surprise of the Broken-hearted and Helpless Widow (Lk. 7:11-16).

3. Jesus and His Uncertain Friends: The questioning of the familiar, yet unsure cousin of Jesus, John the Baptizer (Lk. 7:17-23).

4. Jesus before the Hardened Theologians: A fourth was a group of Pharisees that diverted the heart truths of God by theological arguments! (7:24-35).

5. Jesus and a Grateful Sinner: A shattered sinful woman that came to Jesus full of gratitude for His love, forgiveness and acceptance (7:36-50).

Step into the five scenes, one at a time – and look carefully for those who really grasped the truth of Who Jesus was, and what He could do for them.

The Humility of a Needy Centurion (Lk. 7:1-10)

Luke 7:1 When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. 2 And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. 3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. 4 When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; 5 for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” 6 Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; 7 for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 “For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 9 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” 10 When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

Jesus finished teaching and walked back into the village of Capernaum. When he got into the town, he was met by some of the local elders of the “synagogue near the sea” who came and asked Jesus to do a good deed for a slave – a strange request. It appears the centurion previously built a great relationship with the Jewish community by showing care to the local Jewish community and helping them raise the funds to maintain and add to their synagogue. The Jewish leaders came to Jesus and sough a healing for the man’s servant.

We don’t know much about the centurion – but we know some important details. The text offers six details:

• His rank put him in charge of a “centuria” consisting normally of 80 men. Six “centuria” formed a “cohort”…. The man was in a responsible position in the Roman army.

• The Centurion had a soft heart toward his servant (7:1-2). He was a leader with a heart for PEOPLE, the object of God’s affection.

• The Centurion had a tender heart toward God’s people (7:3-5). To love me is to love what I love beside me.

• The Centurion had a deep sense of unworthiness (7:6-7a). An open sense of God’s “stooping” to us is a great place to begin a successful walk with God!

• The Centurion had a firm trust in Jesus’ authority (7:7b-8). The first step in our walk must be to stand firmly in Jesus’ ability.

• The Centurion gained Jesus’ attention (7:9-10). Jesus required only one thing of this follower – honest trust in Him!

This story made clear that Jesus aided a man of humility, tenderness and faith. The humility was not a poor self-image – it was “ranking himself beneath” out of respect. He recognized the power and position of Jesus, and he recognized his own sinfulness. His tenderness was shown in actions of assistance to those who needed help. His “faith” – the ability to see things as God says they are – was clear in the way he dealt with the Savior. Arrogance pushes God away – humility draws God in to help.

A second story also draws in a hurting and needy person…

The Surprise of the Broken-hearted and Helpless Widow (Lk. 7:11-17).

Luke 7:11 Soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large crowd. 12 Now as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. 16 Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people!” 17 This report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district.

Jesus left Capernaum not long after the assistance to the centurion’s servant, and walked toward the Jezreel Valley on the road that passed the foot of Hill of Moreh – a place famous because of the ministry of Elijah and Elisha long before. As he walked by the village of Nain, a parade of mourners happened on the road carrying a funeral bier of a young man. Jesus noticed a widow – walking without a husband or children behind the bier. He approached the broken hearted woman and told her to cease weeping. Next, He walked toward the bier; in a bold but shocking move – He TOUCHED the small bed with the body on it. This story offered a few details of the woman:

• The broken woman was loved, but broken beyond the hope of asking for help from God. Truthfully, in the midst of her pain, she probably never noticed Jesus standing before her! (7:11-12).

• The widow could not “cry out” for help, but Jesus picked her out (7:13).

• The crushed momma was unprepared for the incredible deliverance God brought – though He had done it before in others nearby! Elisha raised the Shunnamite woman’s son – and Shunem was a nearby village on the opposite side of the same hill! (7:14-16; cp. 2 Kings 4:36).

Consider this woman for a moment. Isn’t it true that in our tears, we can fail to see clearly? Sometimes in the midst of a terrible night, God stands ready to reveal Himself – even if we weren’t looking for Him! Jesus saw her tears, and He met her in the midst of her pain. He gave her back what she lost – but He gave her much more – He gave her His kind attention and care. Brokenness draws in the tender approach of God. There is no place so painful that God cannot touch it. There is no person so broken that God cannot repair them. There is no joy deeper than the knowledge that God is there when my pain is unbearable!

Yet a third story was collected by Luke and joined to this one, and though this one isn’t a healing, it is by someone in a desperate situation…

The uncertain cousin of Jesus: John the Baptizer (Lk. 7:17-23).

Luke 7:18 The disciples of John reported to him about all these things. 19 Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?” 20 When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?'” 21 At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind. 22 And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. 23 “Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

John knew about the power of God (Lk. 7:18) and John HOPED that the promises were true and found in Jesus (Lk. 7:19-20), but he was uncertain (7:21-23; cp. Isa. 8:13-15). Jesus explained that His identity should be recognized based on the promises of God’s Word and the evidence of His walk before men! (7:21-23; cp. Isa. 8:13-15).

Why is this story tucked into this passage? Is it because a messenger approached Jesus just after he encountered the widow at Nain? Perhaps…but that doesn’t seem to be true based on the cross references of the other Gospels. It appears the point Luke was making in the organization of the stories together was this: John was under arrest. His desperation wasn’t from loss of a son or sickness of a servant as the other stories – but rather the loss of his personal freedoms and the fear of his own future. John’s life was all about one thing: Proclaiming the message of God. When he pointed people to Jesus as the Lamb, was he mistaken?

We have seen that humility attracts God’s hand, and brokenness move His gentle touch – but what about desperation and uncertainty? Does God withdraw from one who cannot trust Him fully? The answer is NO! God understands our deep connection to the physical world and to our own preservation. He knows what we fear most – and much of it relates to leaving this world. God’s answer to the “doubting desperate” is to offer more truth –more evidence of Himself. Honest doubt in the face of desperation doesn’t repulse God – it draws Him in.

A fourth story was joined to these…

Religious leaders as opposed to repentant businessmen (7:24-35).

Luke 7:24 When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 “But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces! 26 “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet. 27 “This is the one about whom it is written, ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’ 28 “I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John. 31 “To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32 “They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ 33 “For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ 34 “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 “Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” 36 Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.

The next story Luke paired with this set of remembrances was Jesus’ encounter, first with the crowds to pose a question about John – and then to two groups who heard John. On the one hand were those who followed John’s message – guilty cheaters who saw the need to repent and be baptized by John – acknowledging their sinfulness. On the other hand, there were some trained men that were proficient at using information and debate to deflect heart truth. They heard John, but his message of repentance meant nothing to them – for they saw themselves as righteous by virtue of what they KNEW. Jesus cut through the layer of theological objections to deliver a set of four powerful truths! These truths were targeted as a caution to those who had considerable knowledge of God’s Word, but little faith to walk in it!

The first truth was people want something that is REAL, not simply something that is highly polished. Not as many are faked out by religious nonsense as the religious may think. Jesus began His time before them with a question: “Why did you all go out to see John in the wilderness?” (7:24a) He offered several possibilities:

• Did his commitment draw you? (7:24b).
• Did his “sophisticated and polished look” draw you? (7:25)
• Were you perhaps seeking God’s truths? (7:26)

Next, Jesus affirmed that John was presenting the truth and preparing the crowd for Messiah (7:26b-27) as He explained the role that John played in prophetic truth (7:28). He was the announcer, the introducer – the pointer.

Jesus offered a second statement: When people encounter the truth and are powerfully changed by it, they are ready to take a stand for it! The many in the crowd that had been at the great revivals of John affirmed Jesus’ statements with an “Amen!” (7:29) but the theologically trained Pharisees withdrew (7:30).

A third truth became apparent: Real leaders see changes in their followers as truth is offered, while fake leaders moan about real ones! Jesus offered this observation about the religious leaders: “They lead, but they complain that no one follows” (7:31-32). “They reject the power others have found encountering God’s truth, and offer nothing but complaints about the externals” (7:33-34).

Finally, Jesus ended with this parable: “Life-changing God-given truth evidences itself unmistakably in the lives of those who follow it!” (7:35). Real truth has measurable fruit. Real wisdom transforms. Why is this story included here?

We have seen that humility, brokenness and desperation draw the tender response of the Lord… but here that truth is contrasted with those who repulse God. God is drawn to those who allow Him to transform them, but moves away from those who choose to know ABOUT HIM without surrendering TO HIM.

God isn’t seeking highly polished theologians – He seeks surrendered saints. He is looking for those who WANT Him to work in them, strongly desire Him to sculpt away their desires and leave them with a greater hunger for His touch.

There is still one more story…

A woman with gratitude, who found love and acceptance in the Savior’s presence (7:36-50)

Luke 7:37 And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, 38 and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 “When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” 44 Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 “You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. 46 “You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. 47 “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” 49 Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” 50 And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

The story reminds us that the woman presented was a well-known sinner. Perhaps it was her dress, perhaps her speech or manner – but it was clear that she was a woman with a past. Luke described her: She was filled with shame and guilt from the past, but took the most precious thing she has and offered to it Jesus to express deep gratitude that she could be made whole (7:36-37). She poured out both her earnings and the pain of their heart, finding solace in merely being allowed to touch Jesus’ feet and find His acceptance. She was unconcerned about how she appeared to those who thought they had life together. She loved that God forgave her, and she cherished forgiveness with overwhelming gratefulness (7:38).

Some people you meet don’t really sense their need of God so easily. For people like that, God may need to provide a lesson to help them understand their need – by observing the advantages of brokenness in someone else. People with a brokenness about their past are often used by God as a lesson to others – and that is the gift we have in them! Consider this:

• Even those who know something of God’s love and power can misunderstand His heart. They want justice for others, but mercy for themselves. God shows that He knows how to love in spite of sin (7:39).

• Jesus wanted to teach even the self-righteous of His own mercy, that they might experience mercy (7:40).

• God is not unclear. He knows we all owe Him – none are worthy! (7:41-42).

• Jesus wanted the self-righteous to become as the broken – to acknowledge his own unworthiness (7:43)!

• Jesus desired an “exchange of eyes” – as the self-righteous discover their neediness (7:44).

• He contrasted the extreme love of the broken woman as a model to the stayed dignity of the self-righteous (7:45-46).

• Self-righteous men and women can be shocked by how the broken, guilty and shame-filled people are able to shed the need to look good in the hope that someone can love them and accept them – and God lovingly pulls them to Himself (7:47).

God draw near to the heart filled with gratitude, but withdraws from the haughty heart. Think about it this way:

Gratitude presupposes we know we are forgiven. Jesus openly claimed the right to forgive the sin, as well as remove the shame and guilt to those who trust Him (7:48). We need to trust His word. We must gauge forgiveness by God’s Word, not by other people who are also guilty. People are not as forgiving as God is, and they will resist the cleansing of one who has acted shamefully (7:49). Don’t forget, we need to be released from the bondage of shame and guilt, so that we can LIVE for Jesus! In this story, Jesus wanted this woman to know forgiveness and acceptance so that she could go out and LIVE, not cling to Him reliving her guilt over and over (7:50). Gratitude fills us when forgiveness is truly recognized.

The simple truth is that inside each of us we wrestle with the ego that hinders us from continual surrender – and for much of our life that is our single greatest foe. Humility before God, brokenness before God, honest desperation of heart, a hunger to surrender all the dark corners of the heart within, and gratitude for God’s forgiveness and intimate companionship draw Him in. That is the message of the five stories of Luke 7.

There are many people who have stories like the five we have encountered in this lesson. They have been burned by life, and the fires have scarred them and left them hurting. Yet, God wants to use them. Consider this, as we draw this lesson to its close:

Sequoia National Park is a reserve in the southern Sierras of California, in the United States. The park was established in 1890 and spans more that 400,000 acres. It is covered with a variety of trees – some of them are a very resistant kind of pine. These “Lodge Pole pines” were created by God to withstand incredible opposition. Seeds within the pine cones of these trees are not easy to break, like some of the other pine cones we find around our yards. Can you guess when the seeds come out? The cones lay dormant and open only under extreme heat, such as what happens in a forest fire. If you place “Lodge Pole” pine cones in a campfire they pop loudly as they open and expose their protected seeds. The true value of the cone is this: the crisis of a fire, the testing of extreme heat brings the release of the life-giving seeds that will spur reforestation in a fire that destroys other trees.

Maybe your life has been tested by fire. Maybe you feel broken by pain. You should know this: that is exactly when God moves in. It is pride that dismisses Him, while trust, humility and brokenness invite Him.

God draws near to one who opens their heart, but withdraws from one who refuses Him entrance.