This year I'd like to keep a record of thoughts from Lent but rather than sharing a post every time, I'll keep it under one heading. That way, I won't annoy you too much : )02/04/2015
I need to take a pause now on the eve of Good Friday (the night of the Last Supper). There is still some way to go before the end of the Gospel of Matthew and I really want to finish so I will resume after Easter and see where that takes me : ) I hope you have a very good Easter break!
Until next time, this is last years message from Palm Sunday...
Message 20
Read Matthew 18:1-14
Read Matthew 5:1-12
We live in a World which is upside down and unfair and one day, Jesus promises, the places will be reversed. The last shall indeed be first : )
Jesus has reserved the most important places in the Kingdom of Heaven for children and says that our very entry to that place depends on each one of us becoming like a child.
Knowing that this is true, it is abhorrent to consider what is being done to children around the World including in New Zealand, where we have the most appalling child abuse statistics.
There are some topics that are so deeply unpleasant that we don't even want to talk about them.
A good many years ago, I attended an Easter conference called "Spring Harvest" at Skegness in England. There were a lot of young people there as the conference was mainly for teenagers and young adults. I was shocked one night when an estimated 25% went forward for counselling because they had been abused as children.
One of my own childhood teachers used to have pictures of the boys from his class with their shirts off. At the time I was young and thought nothing bad of it but later I learned that there had been cases of abuse in that group. Fortunately for me, I escaped any of that. But others didn't and struggled to come to terms with it.
In more recent times we have heard of many cases of childhood heroes who turned out to be monsters.
The nature of evil is to spoil anything that is pure and the effects are life long. The Devil's mission is to steal kill and destroy but Jesus came to give life in abundance (John 10:10).
If someone is innocent, evil wants to rob them of it.
If something is beautiful, evil wants to kill it.
If someone is generous and kind, then evil wants to take everything they can until there is nothing left.
I am 100% sure that evil exists in this World by observing what it has done to children. Children are by far the largest victims of evil. Even from the moment you are conceived, you are in danger! Strip away the mask of humanity and you find the evil principalities and powers that the Bible tells us we are engaged in a war with.
I can't answer in a satisfying way why God allows such evil in the World. But you can read what Jesus says is reserved in judgement for people who have ruined a child's innocence. It is something that provokes the most extreme wrath of God and will be severely punished.
Happily the reverse is also true. If we treat the least of these well, then we will receive a great reward : )
Message 19
Read Matthew 17
No other generation has experienced life the way we have. You can travel in a plane above the clouds with the World and its troubles far below. It is so beautiful from up there that you might never want to come down. But gravity always takes effect!
It's even better than going to the top of a mountain where the views can extend for hundreds of kilometres and the white snow gives you the experience of newness and purity.
These physical experiences encourage us there is much more to life than what we encounter in our every day lives.
The mountaintop experience. Sometimes you get them in life without even arranging it. Those moments when everything is so happy, so clear that you wonder if your struggles had ever even existed.
Without the mountain top experience we would find it very hard to face life's most difficult challenges for they give us the hope of a better world.
By the way, the experience of being Born Again is like that. The Bible says you are a brand new person and certainly you FEEL that everything is brand new and it wasn't because of a physical experience but a spiritual one.
Yet in this life those moments of pure clarity don't last forever. We have to live in this real world with our responsibilities and where bad things happen even to good people.
In the previous chapter, Jesus has just asked the disciples who they think he is and Peter has been bold enough to answer that he is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. It makes me laugh to think that the others weren't really sure. After all, they had heard what Jesus had said and seen the miracles he had done!
Immediately Jesus confirms what Peter has confessed he believes.
This moment in the story is so great an experience for Jesus, Peter, James and John that it would be hard to come back to Earth after that : ) (certainly for me it would!) .
This story points to the fact that God gives us mountaintop experiences to help us prepare for what lies ahead. We are now really close to the Cross, it is almost the countdown week in the story and without that experience on the Mountain, how would they all have kept going, I wonder?
The experience was only brief but it was a taste of the Eternal World that we are all journeying to. Thank God NOW for those moments in YOUR life!
The passage concludes with an encouraging story about a fish : )
I have a cousin who is a nurse and she now lives in America. The reason she left England was because nurse's in England are not paid particularly well and she noted that people in jobs who help others are all underpaid in England, where as others in jobs that don't directly help anyone are receiving huge salaries and bonuses! I don't think the World has changed that much since Jesus' day in this regard : (
It has always been true that the Rich and Powerful take advantage of the Poor. I know it's not every rich person, don't get me wrong. But you have to admit that there is something badly wrong with our World when there is so much excess on the one hand, and people struggling to exist and even starving on the other.
Jesus makes a beautiful point to Peter that this World is very much upside down. He asks Peter who pays the taxes!
The answer of course is the Poor and Powerless. So true isn't it? Who paid for the Financial Crisis of our time? It wasn't the Rich who paid, it's the Poor, the ordinary people.
Jesus calls them the Foreigners and why? Because their true home, the land where they were born, isn't here! Have you been Born Again?
And then Jesus sends Peter to catch a fish and tells him he will find a coin in it's mouth, enough to pay the taxes. God will always provide enough for what we need to live in this World so even though we are like a foreigner, we don't have to worry : )
Message 18
Read Matthew 16
Read Romans 1:20
Do you believe in any of the following?
- fate or destiny
- karma
- an afterlife
- ghosts or spirits
- a greater power
- one or more of the World's Religions
You would be included in some 80% of the Worlds population. I like your honesty to acknowledge there may be something more to life than what we can physically touch or see : )
Now for all you scientific types who need more than just belief and hearsay. How accurate are your forecasts and hypotheses?
- weather forecasts
- scientific or economic models
- statistical predictions
- budgets
- hypotheses about how life started
Did anybody out there say less than 100%? Perhaps you can agree with Richard Dawkins that even though there probably isn't a God, there actually might be. I have to say that I like Richard Dawkins for leaving himself open to the possibility!
Ok, we're really down to the World's intellectual elite now!
If you know everything about everything then you must be on a par with someone everyone else calls God. Anyone want to put their hand up?
Surely not! Even the most brilliant atheist in the World would not make such a claim as that. Surely only a madman or the Devil himself would be so arrogant.
But Jesus made the claim to be God! Was he crazy, was he evil, is it possible he was telling the truth?
These are very good questions! Have you made your decision yet? Who do you say Jesus is? We are more than halfway through our journey through the Gospel of Matthew!!
Message 17
Feeding of 4000+
Read Matthew 15:29-39
Read Mark 8:1-9
Feeding of 5000+
Read Matthew 14:13-21
Read Mark 6:34-45
Read Luke 9:10-17
Read John 6:5-15
You can tell a lot about a person with a few small observations. Detectives are brilliant at it. But a good detective gathers all the facts before making a conclusion. If you don't have enough facts, you could easily make some false assumptions and reach the wrong conclusion. Plenty of people have been condemned by assumptions.
Take for example someone with long finger nails. In our society we could take that as a sign of good health, body and soul. Since a very anxious person would have chewed them right back, you might assume the opposite, that they were a very finely groomed person with a relaxed attitude to life. If you didn't know they wore false teeth your assumption would be wrong because;
1. They wear false teeth because they lost their real ones being too poor to go to the dentist.
2. Even though they are poor and very anxious, they can't bite their finger nails.
Some people think that Matthew is recalling the same miracle feeding of a large crowd in chapter 14 as in chapter 15 but read them carefully and you will see they were two separate events with important differences.
Q. What is the difference between the 2 miracles?
A.
The feeding of the 5000+
1. Near Bethsaida in Israel so to Jews
2. Jesus uses 5 loaves and 2 fish
3. 12 baskets of scraps gathered
4. Mentioned in all the Gospels
5. Crowd with Jesus for 1 day
6. Crowd sit in what is described as a grassy area
The feeding of the 4000+
1. On the way back from the land of Tyre and Sidon in the region of Decapolis (Mark 7:31), where the majority of people were Gentiles
2. Jesus uses 7 loaves and some small fish
3. 7 baskets of scraps gathered
4. Mentioned in only 2 Gospels, not John or Luke
5. Crowd with Jesus for 3 days with nothing to eat
6. Crowd sit on the ground up on the mountainside
A little more detail can be found in these extra observations.
Although Bethsaida and Decapolis were quite close geographically, plain reading tells these two stories are two different occasions. Although the stories follow very closely in the Gospel of Matthew, he is trying to tell us something important. Remember Matthew was an outsider, a tax collector. He knew what it was like to be excluded from Jewish society so he could identify easily with the Gentiles. Before Jesus called him, he worked for the Romans and was hated by the Jews because of it. The Jews were very proud to be God's Chosen People and even Peter, James and John had a lot of trouble truly accepting that the Gentiles were to become part of God's Family. Paul had to severely reprimand them for it! (Galatians 2)
I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about the 2 different stories and the wider meaning. Remember last time how the Canaanite woman asked for the crumbs from the master's table? She was happy if she could just get the scraps!
But here Jesus shows that he loves equally both Jews and Gentiles by teaching, healing and abundantly feeding both groups. The Gentiles weren't just to get the scraps like dogs begging at the table, they were to become sons and daughters in God's household.
Think today which groups of people in the World are outsiders to the Church. We shouldn't be giving them the scraps leftover at the end of the meal. They are invited by Jesus to join for the first course of the banquet. The Gospel is especially for them!
Message 16
Read Matthew 15:21-28
Read Matthew 1
Read Romans 11:11-36
On 1 January 1962, before they reached international stardom, the Beatles auditioned for Decca Records at their Decca Studios in West Hampstead, North London. In what is considered one of the biggest mistakes in music history, Decca decided to reject the band, selecting instead Brian Poole and the Tremeloes instead. Doh!
History is full of examples like this. The King of England once stood down from the throne to marry the woman he loved so his younger brother was thrust into the limelight, just before World War II. The stress of being King lead him to an early grave but his daughter reigns in England to this day and in September 2015 she will become the longest reigning British Monarch. What a wonderful day that will be!
Some people call it fate, some say it's genetics but I see it as evidence of the handiwork of God.
If you remember the story of King Saul you know that he was selected by God to be the King of Israel from the smallest of Israel's tribes. This is the way God works more often than not. The people he chooses are the ones you least expect.
Now I know Saul stuffed it up through his lack of obedience. And then God selected an even less likely candidate...David (who also stuffed it up badly).
But David is the most famous of Israel's Kings. The Star of David is on their flag to this day. And David's birth line lead directly to Jesus making him the true King of Israel not Herod.
When you meet the Queen of England you must bow or courtesy. A King must also be addressed correctly!
In todays passage, Jesus has gone to the region of Tyre and Sidon outside of Israel. A Canaanite woman calls out loudly to Jesus "Lord (King), Son of David (King), have pity on me!"
She understands exactly who Jesus is. He is not the King of her country but she is calling him King and she knows he has the authority to save her daughter from demonic possession. No one else at this point, even the disciples realised that he is the King of Kings!
Now Jesus seems to rudely dismiss her but I think he was testing to see the extent of her faith. So when she says even the dogs can eat the crumbs from their masters table, she is comparing herself to a dog in the King's household.
Don't you just love her for her humility? Sometimes we react so badly to the knocks people give us. But if we learned from this woman, what a difference it would make!
Now Jesus commends her for her faith and heals her daughter.
Because of the faith of Gentiles like this woman, the whole world has heard the Gospel. It is sad that Israel rejected Jesus as their King but if they hadn't, then how different history would be! Jesus would have still been killed by the Romans for his threat to Caesars power but he would have only been remembered in Israel as their hero in the footsteps of King David.
Now he is known throughout the whole World! Can you recognise him like this woman once did?
Message 15
Matthew 15:1-20
Romans 7-8
People can hide things well when they're on guard but you can tell a lot about a person by the way they speak when they are relaxed.
If someone talks freely about something that's wrong as if it isn't or tells dirty jokes or curses often, they are revealing something of their true nature. You can't live in the World without meeting people like that but be careful about what YOU think and say!
No-one can truly say "I don't know what came over me!". Wrong actions are always preceded by wrong thoughts. So I need to pay attention to how I think and when I analyse that I find there is a big problem in MY heart.
I find myself agreeing with what Paul says in Romans. Because of God's Spirit given to me through my faith in Jesus, some days I can be sailing smoothly, feeling good about life and my progress. But other times, the bad nature that STILL remains rises up with all kinds of wrong thoughts and emotions that unchecked will result in sin and death! If you want some encouragement for your journey through life, one of the classic books you should read is Pilgrim's Progress. You will identify very well with Christian I'm sure ; )
The Pharisees in Matthew 15 are representatives of the Law and what it will do us if we don't progress from Romans 7 to Romans 8 : )
The Gospel saves us from a terrible fate. The promise of God is that once we become believers, he will never leave us. Then, nothing can separate us from the love of God : )
Message 14
Read Matthew 14:22-36
Read Matthew 8:23-34
The disciples had now been with Jesus for some time and they had witnessed many miracles and experienced the battle between good and evil for themselves.
The last time they had crossed the lake and a storm came up, Jesus was with them. When they feared drowning, he calmed the sea. They were able to put 2 and 2 together and realise who Jesus was and what they were fighting against.
The storm on the lake that day was not a common storm. They were fishermen who knew how to avoid or to manage a storm. When they arrived on the other side they had witnessed Jesus cast out many demons from 2 men into some pigs who then ran off a cliff and drowned in the sea.
It doesn't take long to believe in evil if you witness an exorcism! Anyone who thinks it's mental illness of some kind probably hasn't experienced it for themselves. It is a very under-utilised work of the Western Church but is common in places like Africa, China and India. No wonder the Church is progressing at speed in those places as the Devil has to fall back. We need to recover our weapons and courage if we're going to win the battles here : )
Certainly the disciples were afraid at this point so we are in good company : )
In this passage Jesus is not with the disciples when the storm comes up again, and they felt the fear rising. They were no doubt telling each other not to be frightened when suddenly a ghostly figure appears walking on the water. It's that moment in the horror movie when the villain appears from the darkness and the music plays suddenly and loudly : (
It only took one to cry out "It's a ghost!" And suddenly they're all crying out in fear. These guys weren't wimps but having seen demons cast out and no Jesus there this time, they were terrified. So Jesus calls out to them to let them know it's him. Peter fears it's a trick, so he asks Jesus to identify himself by calling him to walk on the water as well! In the most terrifying of moments our adrenalin kicks in and suddenly Peter is out of the boat and walking on the water as well! Only when he begins to think what he's doing and observes the crashing waves around him does he begin to sink.
Our minds get in the way of our faith quite often don't they? We take our eyes off Jesus (who we know can do anything) and we reason based on our knowledge, experience and even what others might think. It's so hard for the Western mind to believe, it takes a lot of evidence or else a crisis.
Peter fears drowning and calls out to be saved and Jesus rescues him. That's the good news. Jesus is always there for you if only you will call out to him!
While I was writing this morning the simple words of this old song came to mind...
Thank you oh my Father
For giving us your Son
And leaving your Spirit 'till
The work on Earth is done : )
From There is a Redeemer by Melody Green
Message 13
Read Matthew 14:1-24
Something to learn as you get older is how to manage yourself. When the pressure rises and you're tired, people will usually go to their default personality type, to the place they feel most comfortable. For me, I like to withdraw and rest. I am off the radar for a while. Others just want to be with people, have some fun.
But life doesn't always allow it. A death of a loved one is one of those times. At the very moment when you need to rest, there are details that have to be taken care of.
False King Herod had John beheaded for nothing more than not wanting to look bad in front of his guests. John hadn't done anything wrong, only tell Herod the truth. I'm afraid that telling someone the truth when they are doing wrong is rarely a thankful task in this World : (
John's disciples took care of the burial. Then they went to tell Jesus what had happened to his cousin. I'm sure Jesus would have liked to have been at the burial but he'd missed it. He gets a small boat and sails away to a quiet isolated location. It is interesting that Jesus did this. He had family and friends to turn to but he goes away in isolation. It tells something of his true personality - quiet and more comfortable away from the crowds.
It's good that you meet people who are opposite to you. They pull you back from your extremes : )
In this case the crowd had followed Jesus around the lake and rudely disturb his quiet solitude.
Jesus was grieving but he feels pity in his heart for the great crowd so he begins healing their sick and then another great miracle, the feeding of the 5000+
If I'm tired I feel reluctance to do things for others. I'll usually do it but not in a good spirit.
Not with Jesus! He is totally unselfish. You can go to him anytime and he'll never turn you away. His heart always feels love for you and he will give you what you ask for and even more! There was more than enough food for the crowd, that is his way.
After the crowds have departed, he sends his disciples on ahead in the boat to the other side of the lake. This time Jesus climbs the mountain to find quiet solitude. Perhaps he thought, "They'll never follow me up here!" Finally he had found some "Me" time : )
Message 12
No money, no suitcase, hand luggage and God forbid, no mobile phone. Just the clothes you're wearing and your passport...that's it! Who's in?
Actually you'd probably be arrested on suspicion of terrorism these days.
It's the sheer craziness of what Jesus says that gets your attention. Here he sends the disciples out on a mission with nothing. No money, no bag, one piece of clothing only allowed. What's the chances of success do you think?
Our world has gotten very comfortable. To live in the western world is to live in luxury compared to any other time or place.
Was Jesus crazy or was his request reasonable?
Well first of all they were not empty handed. He sends them with power to do the same things he had been doing.
And he sends them to the Jews not the Samaritans or anyone else. So he's sending them to their own people, his brothers and sisters and he's expecting that someone will receive them, accommodate them, feed them and take care of them if they need money just like family.
And in return they have to preach the kingdom, heal the sick, cast out demons. It's a fair exchange for the work they are going to do and the persecution they would face.
Nevertheless, when I read these words they are a big challenge to my faith. They disturb me from my comfort and leave me feeling a bit lost, well short of where I should be. Because behaving in that way will make everyone think you are crazy and probably get you arrested.
It's been a long, long time since I took a risk like that : )
Message 5
Read Matthew 6:9-13
Read Matthew 4:1-11
During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was asked by his disciples how to pray. They had been observing the miracles that he had been doing and they could see Jesus had a hotline to God, a power that had never been seen before. Huge crowds were following Jesus and they knew that change would be coming to their oppressed country.
The prayer that Jesus gave them is recited to this day all over the World. It is a prayer that may be used in every circumstance you may face especially the most difficult ones. Many people, not just Christians know it and it's good thing too. I heard the story of how it saved a dying New Zealander who had a life after death experience. The man was stung by a box jellyfish and the Lord's Prayer was the only way he knew how to talk to God! (The video link is part 2 of 4 but I would encourage you to watch all 4 parts).
This prayer was very personal to Jesus. The recent experience in the desert being tempted by the Devil was fresh in Jesus mind and you can hear that in the prayer.
There were 3 temptations Jesus faced and the response lines from the prayer are in brackets;
This moment in the story is so great an experience for Jesus, Peter, James and John that it would be hard to come back to Earth after that : ) (certainly for me it would!) .
This story points to the fact that God gives us mountaintop experiences to help us prepare for what lies ahead. We are now really close to the Cross, it is almost the countdown week in the story and without that experience on the Mountain, how would they all have kept going, I wonder?
The experience was only brief but it was a taste of the Eternal World that we are all journeying to. Thank God NOW for those moments in YOUR life!
The passage concludes with an encouraging story about a fish : )
I have a cousin who is a nurse and she now lives in America. The reason she left England was because nurse's in England are not paid particularly well and she noted that people in jobs who help others are all underpaid in England, where as others in jobs that don't directly help anyone are receiving huge salaries and bonuses! I don't think the World has changed that much since Jesus' day in this regard : (
It has always been true that the Rich and Powerful take advantage of the Poor. I know it's not every rich person, don't get me wrong. But you have to admit that there is something badly wrong with our World when there is so much excess on the one hand, and people struggling to exist and even starving on the other.
Jesus makes a beautiful point to Peter that this World is very much upside down. He asks Peter who pays the taxes!
The answer of course is the Poor and Powerless. So true isn't it? Who paid for the Financial Crisis of our time? It wasn't the Rich who paid, it's the Poor, the ordinary people.
Jesus calls them the Foreigners and why? Because their true home, the land where they were born, isn't here! Have you been Born Again?
And then Jesus sends Peter to catch a fish and tells him he will find a coin in it's mouth, enough to pay the taxes. God will always provide enough for what we need to live in this World so even though we are like a foreigner, we don't have to worry : )
Message 18
Read Matthew 16
Read Romans 1:20
Do you believe in any of the following?
- fate or destiny
- karma
- an afterlife
- ghosts or spirits
- a greater power
- one or more of the World's Religions
You would be included in some 80% of the Worlds population. I like your honesty to acknowledge there may be something more to life than what we can physically touch or see : )
Now for all you scientific types who need more than just belief and hearsay. How accurate are your forecasts and hypotheses?
- weather forecasts
- scientific or economic models
- statistical predictions
- budgets
- hypotheses about how life started
Did anybody out there say less than 100%? Perhaps you can agree with Richard Dawkins that even though there probably isn't a God, there actually might be. I have to say that I like Richard Dawkins for leaving himself open to the possibility!
Ok, we're really down to the World's intellectual elite now!
If you know everything about everything then you must be on a par with someone everyone else calls God. Anyone want to put their hand up?
Surely not! Even the most brilliant atheist in the World would not make such a claim as that. Surely only a madman or the Devil himself would be so arrogant.
But Jesus made the claim to be God! Was he crazy, was he evil, is it possible he was telling the truth?
These are very good questions! Have you made your decision yet? Who do you say Jesus is? We are more than halfway through our journey through the Gospel of Matthew!!
Message 17
Feeding of 4000+
Read Matthew 15:29-39
Read Mark 8:1-9
Feeding of 5000+
Read Matthew 14:13-21
Read Mark 6:34-45
Read Luke 9:10-17
Read John 6:5-15
You can tell a lot about a person with a few small observations. Detectives are brilliant at it. But a good detective gathers all the facts before making a conclusion. If you don't have enough facts, you could easily make some false assumptions and reach the wrong conclusion. Plenty of people have been condemned by assumptions.
Take for example someone with long finger nails. In our society we could take that as a sign of good health, body and soul. Since a very anxious person would have chewed them right back, you might assume the opposite, that they were a very finely groomed person with a relaxed attitude to life. If you didn't know they wore false teeth your assumption would be wrong because;
1. They wear false teeth because they lost their real ones being too poor to go to the dentist.
2. Even though they are poor and very anxious, they can't bite their finger nails.
Some people think that Matthew is recalling the same miracle feeding of a large crowd in chapter 14 as in chapter 15 but read them carefully and you will see they were two separate events with important differences.
Q. What is the difference between the 2 miracles?
A.
The feeding of the 5000+
1. Near Bethsaida in Israel so to Jews
2. Jesus uses 5 loaves and 2 fish
3. 12 baskets of scraps gathered
4. Mentioned in all the Gospels
5. Crowd with Jesus for 1 day
6. Crowd sit in what is described as a grassy area
The feeding of the 4000+
1. On the way back from the land of Tyre and Sidon in the region of Decapolis (Mark 7:31), where the majority of people were Gentiles
2. Jesus uses 7 loaves and some small fish
3. 7 baskets of scraps gathered
4. Mentioned in only 2 Gospels, not John or Luke
5. Crowd with Jesus for 3 days with nothing to eat
6. Crowd sit on the ground up on the mountainside
A little more detail can be found in these extra observations.
Although Bethsaida and Decapolis were quite close geographically, plain reading tells these two stories are two different occasions. Although the stories follow very closely in the Gospel of Matthew, he is trying to tell us something important. Remember Matthew was an outsider, a tax collector. He knew what it was like to be excluded from Jewish society so he could identify easily with the Gentiles. Before Jesus called him, he worked for the Romans and was hated by the Jews because of it. The Jews were very proud to be God's Chosen People and even Peter, James and John had a lot of trouble truly accepting that the Gentiles were to become part of God's Family. Paul had to severely reprimand them for it! (Galatians 2)
I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about the 2 different stories and the wider meaning. Remember last time how the Canaanite woman asked for the crumbs from the master's table? She was happy if she could just get the scraps!
But here Jesus shows that he loves equally both Jews and Gentiles by teaching, healing and abundantly feeding both groups. The Gentiles weren't just to get the scraps like dogs begging at the table, they were to become sons and daughters in God's household.
Think today which groups of people in the World are outsiders to the Church. We shouldn't be giving them the scraps leftover at the end of the meal. They are invited by Jesus to join for the first course of the banquet. The Gospel is especially for them!
Message 16
Read Matthew 15:21-28
Read Matthew 1
Read Romans 11:11-36
On 1 January 1962, before they reached international stardom, the Beatles auditioned for Decca Records at their Decca Studios in West Hampstead, North London. In what is considered one of the biggest mistakes in music history, Decca decided to reject the band, selecting instead Brian Poole and the Tremeloes instead. Doh!
History is full of examples like this. The King of England once stood down from the throne to marry the woman he loved so his younger brother was thrust into the limelight, just before World War II. The stress of being King lead him to an early grave but his daughter reigns in England to this day and in September 2015 she will become the longest reigning British Monarch. What a wonderful day that will be!
Some people call it fate, some say it's genetics but I see it as evidence of the handiwork of God.
If you remember the story of King Saul you know that he was selected by God to be the King of Israel from the smallest of Israel's tribes. This is the way God works more often than not. The people he chooses are the ones you least expect.
Now I know Saul stuffed it up through his lack of obedience. And then God selected an even less likely candidate...David (who also stuffed it up badly).
But David is the most famous of Israel's Kings. The Star of David is on their flag to this day. And David's birth line lead directly to Jesus making him the true King of Israel not Herod.
When you meet the Queen of England you must bow or courtesy. A King must also be addressed correctly!
In todays passage, Jesus has gone to the region of Tyre and Sidon outside of Israel. A Canaanite woman calls out loudly to Jesus "Lord (King), Son of David (King), have pity on me!"
She understands exactly who Jesus is. He is not the King of her country but she is calling him King and she knows he has the authority to save her daughter from demonic possession. No one else at this point, even the disciples realised that he is the King of Kings!
Now Jesus seems to rudely dismiss her but I think he was testing to see the extent of her faith. So when she says even the dogs can eat the crumbs from their masters table, she is comparing herself to a dog in the King's household.
Don't you just love her for her humility? Sometimes we react so badly to the knocks people give us. But if we learned from this woman, what a difference it would make!
Now Jesus commends her for her faith and heals her daughter.
Because of the faith of Gentiles like this woman, the whole world has heard the Gospel. It is sad that Israel rejected Jesus as their King but if they hadn't, then how different history would be! Jesus would have still been killed by the Romans for his threat to Caesars power but he would have only been remembered in Israel as their hero in the footsteps of King David.
Now he is known throughout the whole World! Can you recognise him like this woman once did?
Message 15
Matthew 15:1-20
Romans 7-8
People can hide things well when they're on guard but you can tell a lot about a person by the way they speak when they are relaxed.
If someone talks freely about something that's wrong as if it isn't or tells dirty jokes or curses often, they are revealing something of their true nature. You can't live in the World without meeting people like that but be careful about what YOU think and say!
No-one can truly say "I don't know what came over me!". Wrong actions are always preceded by wrong thoughts. So I need to pay attention to how I think and when I analyse that I find there is a big problem in MY heart.
I find myself agreeing with what Paul says in Romans. Because of God's Spirit given to me through my faith in Jesus, some days I can be sailing smoothly, feeling good about life and my progress. But other times, the bad nature that STILL remains rises up with all kinds of wrong thoughts and emotions that unchecked will result in sin and death! If you want some encouragement for your journey through life, one of the classic books you should read is Pilgrim's Progress. You will identify very well with Christian I'm sure ; )
The Pharisees in Matthew 15 are representatives of the Law and what it will do us if we don't progress from Romans 7 to Romans 8 : )
The Gospel saves us from a terrible fate. The promise of God is that once we become believers, he will never leave us. Then, nothing can separate us from the love of God : )
Message 14
Read Matthew 14:22-36
Read Matthew 8:23-34
The disciples had now been with Jesus for some time and they had witnessed many miracles and experienced the battle between good and evil for themselves.
The last time they had crossed the lake and a storm came up, Jesus was with them. When they feared drowning, he calmed the sea. They were able to put 2 and 2 together and realise who Jesus was and what they were fighting against.
The storm on the lake that day was not a common storm. They were fishermen who knew how to avoid or to manage a storm. When they arrived on the other side they had witnessed Jesus cast out many demons from 2 men into some pigs who then ran off a cliff and drowned in the sea.
It doesn't take long to believe in evil if you witness an exorcism! Anyone who thinks it's mental illness of some kind probably hasn't experienced it for themselves. It is a very under-utilised work of the Western Church but is common in places like Africa, China and India. No wonder the Church is progressing at speed in those places as the Devil has to fall back. We need to recover our weapons and courage if we're going to win the battles here : )
Certainly the disciples were afraid at this point so we are in good company : )
In this passage Jesus is not with the disciples when the storm comes up again, and they felt the fear rising. They were no doubt telling each other not to be frightened when suddenly a ghostly figure appears walking on the water. It's that moment in the horror movie when the villain appears from the darkness and the music plays suddenly and loudly : (
It only took one to cry out "It's a ghost!" And suddenly they're all crying out in fear. These guys weren't wimps but having seen demons cast out and no Jesus there this time, they were terrified. So Jesus calls out to them to let them know it's him. Peter fears it's a trick, so he asks Jesus to identify himself by calling him to walk on the water as well! In the most terrifying of moments our adrenalin kicks in and suddenly Peter is out of the boat and walking on the water as well! Only when he begins to think what he's doing and observes the crashing waves around him does he begin to sink.
Our minds get in the way of our faith quite often don't they? We take our eyes off Jesus (who we know can do anything) and we reason based on our knowledge, experience and even what others might think. It's so hard for the Western mind to believe, it takes a lot of evidence or else a crisis.
Peter fears drowning and calls out to be saved and Jesus rescues him. That's the good news. Jesus is always there for you if only you will call out to him!
While I was writing this morning the simple words of this old song came to mind...
Thank you oh my Father
For giving us your Son
And leaving your Spirit 'till
The work on Earth is done : )
From There is a Redeemer by Melody Green
Message 13
Read Matthew 14:1-24
Something to learn as you get older is how to manage yourself. When the pressure rises and you're tired, people will usually go to their default personality type, to the place they feel most comfortable. For me, I like to withdraw and rest. I am off the radar for a while. Others just want to be with people, have some fun.
But life doesn't always allow it. A death of a loved one is one of those times. At the very moment when you need to rest, there are details that have to be taken care of.
False King Herod had John beheaded for nothing more than not wanting to look bad in front of his guests. John hadn't done anything wrong, only tell Herod the truth. I'm afraid that telling someone the truth when they are doing wrong is rarely a thankful task in this World : (
John's disciples took care of the burial. Then they went to tell Jesus what had happened to his cousin. I'm sure Jesus would have liked to have been at the burial but he'd missed it. He gets a small boat and sails away to a quiet isolated location. It is interesting that Jesus did this. He had family and friends to turn to but he goes away in isolation. It tells something of his true personality - quiet and more comfortable away from the crowds.
It's good that you meet people who are opposite to you. They pull you back from your extremes : )
In this case the crowd had followed Jesus around the lake and rudely disturb his quiet solitude.
Jesus was grieving but he feels pity in his heart for the great crowd so he begins healing their sick and then another great miracle, the feeding of the 5000+
If I'm tired I feel reluctance to do things for others. I'll usually do it but not in a good spirit.
Not with Jesus! He is totally unselfish. You can go to him anytime and he'll never turn you away. His heart always feels love for you and he will give you what you ask for and even more! There was more than enough food for the crowd, that is his way.
After the crowds have departed, he sends his disciples on ahead in the boat to the other side of the lake. This time Jesus climbs the mountain to find quiet solitude. Perhaps he thought, "They'll never follow me up here!" Finally he had found some "Me" time : )
Message 12
"There are some things money can't buy. For everything
else, there's MasterCard." so the ad. goes. Some things you cannot
put a value on, they are priceless.
The
things that Jesus describes in this passage are so valuable that it's like
finding treasure which you could never buy even with all the riches in the
World.
If
you found that treasure would you give up everything else to get it?
You
might not. In the first parable, the 3rd seed falls amongst the thorns and
thistles. The plant is soon crowded out by all the weeds and bears no fruit.
The concerns for this life can choke you from taking the risk to gain something
better.
Finding
the treasure could be intentional or unintentional. You could spend your
life hunting for the treasure of a sunken pirate ship and never find it but
some drunken fool could stumble on an unclaimed lottery ticket in a dark alley,
trample all over it and ruin it.
You
have to first recognise the value before you will search for it and then you
have to recognise the value of what you've found.
But finally you must be prepared to give up everything to
gain it.
And only a
few will do that.
The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, The Lost Son. There
was nothing on Earth as valuable to the searcher as the thing they were looking
for. Who is the one who is searching? It is Jesus. And what is the treasure
that he is looking for? It is you!
Message 11
Have you heard the amazing
story of Charles Blondin, the famous French tightrope walker?
"Blondin's greatest fame came on September 14,
1860, when he became the first person to cross a tightrope stretched 335 metres
across the Niagara Falls. People from both Canada and America came to see this
great feat.
He walked across, nearly 50 metres above the falls, several
times... each time with a different daring feat - once in a sack, on stilts, on
a bicycle, in the dark, and blindfolded. One time he even carried a stove and
cooked an omelet in the middle of the rope!
A large crowd gathered and the buzz of excitement ran along
both sides of the river bank. The crowd “Oohed and Aahed!” as Blondin carefully
walked across - one dangerous step after another - pushing a wheelbarrow
holding a sack of potatoes.
Then at one point, he asked for the participation of a
volunteer. Upon reaching the other side, the crowd's applause was louder than
the roar of the falls!
Blondin suddenly stopped and addressed his audience:
"Do you believe I can carry a person across in this
wheelbarrow?"
The crowd enthusiastically yelled, "Yes! You are the
greatest tightrope walker in the world. We believe!"
"Okay," said Blondin, "Who wants to get into
the wheelbarrow."
As far as the Blondin story goes, no one did at the
time!
This story illustrates a real life picture of what faith
actually is. The crowd watched these daring feats. They said they believed.
But... their actions proved they did not truly believe."
Similarly, it is one thing for us to say we believe in God.
But are we willing to take the risk, and put our reputation and even our life
on the line? If we truly believe that Jesus is God then actions follow. With
true faith we can do even more remarkable things than Jesus did!
In the encounter with the demon, the disciples weren't fully
prepared for the battle. They didn't have the faith required to cast it out. If
they had prayed and fasted beforehand, it would have helped bring their faith
to the right level and allowed them to enter the battle fully armed. Instead
they lost resoundingly.
The Devil is a strong and dangerous foe and not preparing
properly to fight him means certain defeat.
Jesus showed us how it's done. Take responsibility, make the
command believing, and we can do what Jesus did.
I have seen healings when I've believed but I've struggled
to reach the level of faith required to do the greater miracles Jesus did
- giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, paralytics
walking, casting out demons, raising the dead. In the last
4 years, I've learned about fasting through Lent and felt my faith
level rise. But it's got to be more than just nice feelings, it's got
to result in the kind of action that shows true faith. The faith
that would put you in the wheelbarrow on a tightrope across the Niagara Falls :
)
Message 10
Read Matthew 12:22-29
Read Revelation 20:1-3
We saw the movie Sleeping Beauty when we were young. It was in Selsey Bill, a coastal village in the South of England where my grandparents used to live and are now buried. I was with my family including my cousins. We remember the Princess who under a curse, fell into a deep sleep. She was held safe high in a tower until she could be awakened by true love's kiss. When the Prince came to rescue her, the evil fire breathing Dragon was provoked to fury to defend his captive. But the Prince was prepared and armed and fought the Dragon until it was slain. Only then could he kiss the Princess and awaken her so that they may be married and live happily ever after.
Message 9
Read Matthew 4:1-11
Read Ephesians 6:10-20
Let's have another look at Jesus' battle with Satan in the desert in the light of our knowledge about the spiritual weapons of Ephesians 6 and see how Jesus used them to defeat Satan.
Notice that although most of the spiritual weapons are defensive, weapons of attack are needed to win a battle and these are the Sword of the Spirit, the Gospel as well as Praying in the Spirit.
1st Temptation
“If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
What is Satan trying to do?
1. Cast doubt in Jesus mind of who he is
2. Get Jesus to abandon his trust in God for all his provision
Defence
The more primary weapons used are;
1. Helmet of Salvation - to be sure of his place in God's family as the Son of God
2. Shield of Faith - to trust that God will provide, that he didn't need to take matters into his own hands.
Attack
Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Notice that Jesus attacks as well as defends. The use of God's Word in attack makes Satan shrink back.
2nd Temptation
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
What is Satan trying to do?
1. Cast doubt in Jesus mind of who he is (same again Satan - he doesn't have any new tactics)
2. Fight Jesus with the Sword of the Spirit by misquoting Psalm 91. A common tactic of the Devil is to misuse Scripture to confuse us as he did with Eve in the Garden of Eden.
3. Satan is tempting Jesus to fall. Since Satan now knows Jesus trusts for God to provide, he tempts Jesus to fall to show he trusts God to provide. But you cannot play with fire. Satan loves nothing better than a fallen Christian Leader, it gives him great pleasure to mock God's name.
Defence
1. Breastplate of Righteousness - when tempted to fall we need to have moral strength. This righteousness is not our own but Christ's.
2. Belt of Truth - gravity in this case ; ) if you do something foolish like that you're going to die.
Attack
Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
3rd Temptation
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
What is Satan trying to do?
Satan has already shown what a cunning and ruthless foe he is. But now an opportunity for Jesus to win the battle opens up. Satan exposes his pride which is his great weakness. God will show you a way to win every battle you face. Satan offers Jesus a shortcut to gaining the kingdoms of this world knowing that Jesus' mission was to save the world. This was the most dangerous trap of all. Satan will offer you a shortcut to what you want...but at a price. No deal! Even if it's the hardest decision you have to make, do the right thing. God will fulfil his promise to you.
Defence
1. Breastplate of Righteousness - do the right thing
Attack
1. Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
2. The Shoes of the Gospel - Jesus was going to save the world by taking the Gospel to it and surrendering his life to God, not by bowing to Satan. This was God's way to ultimate victory.
Jesus wins the battle, Satan departs defeated and the Angels come and care for Jesus. Winning a ferocious battle like that is exhausting to the point of death. When we win such battles to set the captives free we need time to rest and be ministered to.
Message 7
Read Matthew 11:20-24
Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Read Exodus 32
Read Revelation 20:11-15
When you're fighting someone it doesn't matter what you do, you just can't win.
They oppose you so whatever position you take, they take the opposite.
Just ask the parent of any rebellious teenager. Then ask the teenager. I'm sure they'll have the opposite view ; )
Yet love will persist despite all opposition, expecting the best from the other person : ) And love never gives up does it?
Well love is dangerous like fire.
Here Jesus arrives back at Capernaum where he had recently done many miracles to find nothing has changed. The people are still living their old rebellious ways. The miracles Jesus has done have not provoked any love for God.
It's like when Moses came down from the mountain to find the people of Israel rebelling in sin and he smashes the Ten Commandments on the ground proclaiming the judgement of God.
Jesus proclaims judgement on the towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum referencing Sodom and Gomorrah who were judged with fire and brimstone by God.
WARNING They say that love can burn out, turn cold. But does eternal love ever burn out? No, eternal love keeps burning forever!
They are only scratching the surface when they say that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Don't mess with Love.
Today is the day of Salvation.
Message 6
Read Matthew 10
Would you go travelling with just your passport in your pocket? Message 10
Read Matthew 12:22-29
Read Revelation 20:1-3
We saw the movie Sleeping Beauty when we were young. It was in Selsey Bill, a coastal village in the South of England where my grandparents used to live and are now buried. I was with my family including my cousins. We remember the Princess who under a curse, fell into a deep sleep. She was held safe high in a tower until she could be awakened by true love's kiss. When the Prince came to rescue her, the evil fire breathing Dragon was provoked to fury to defend his captive. But the Prince was prepared and armed and fought the Dragon until it was slain. Only then could he kiss the Princess and awaken her so that they may be married and live happily ever after.
Message 9
Read Matthew 4:1-11
Read Ephesians 6:10-20
Let's have another look at Jesus' battle with Satan in the desert in the light of our knowledge about the spiritual weapons of Ephesians 6 and see how Jesus used them to defeat Satan.
Notice that although most of the spiritual weapons are defensive, weapons of attack are needed to win a battle and these are the Sword of the Spirit, the Gospel as well as Praying in the Spirit.
1st Temptation
“If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
What is Satan trying to do?
1. Cast doubt in Jesus mind of who he is
2. Get Jesus to abandon his trust in God for all his provision
Defence
The more primary weapons used are;
1. Helmet of Salvation - to be sure of his place in God's family as the Son of God
2. Shield of Faith - to trust that God will provide, that he didn't need to take matters into his own hands.
Attack
Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Notice that Jesus attacks as well as defends. The use of God's Word in attack makes Satan shrink back.
2nd Temptation
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
What is Satan trying to do?
1. Cast doubt in Jesus mind of who he is (same again Satan - he doesn't have any new tactics)
2. Fight Jesus with the Sword of the Spirit by misquoting Psalm 91. A common tactic of the Devil is to misuse Scripture to confuse us as he did with Eve in the Garden of Eden.
3. Satan is tempting Jesus to fall. Since Satan now knows Jesus trusts for God to provide, he tempts Jesus to fall to show he trusts God to provide. But you cannot play with fire. Satan loves nothing better than a fallen Christian Leader, it gives him great pleasure to mock God's name.
Defence
1. Breastplate of Righteousness - when tempted to fall we need to have moral strength. This righteousness is not our own but Christ's.
2. Belt of Truth - gravity in this case ; ) if you do something foolish like that you're going to die.
Attack
Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
3rd Temptation
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
What is Satan trying to do?
Satan has already shown what a cunning and ruthless foe he is. But now an opportunity for Jesus to win the battle opens up. Satan exposes his pride which is his great weakness. God will show you a way to win every battle you face. Satan offers Jesus a shortcut to gaining the kingdoms of this world knowing that Jesus' mission was to save the world. This was the most dangerous trap of all. Satan will offer you a shortcut to what you want...but at a price. No deal! Even if it's the hardest decision you have to make, do the right thing. God will fulfil his promise to you.
Defence
1. Breastplate of Righteousness - do the right thing
Attack
1. Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
2. The Shoes of the Gospel - Jesus was going to save the world by taking the Gospel to it and surrendering his life to God, not by bowing to Satan. This was God's way to ultimate victory.
Jesus wins the battle, Satan departs defeated and the Angels come and care for Jesus. Winning a ferocious battle like that is exhausting to the point of death. When we win such battles to set the captives free we need time to rest and be ministered to.
Message 8
I am sure many of you can recite the Lord's Prayer. Even a person who isn't a Christian would have a good chance : )
Unfortunately we don't take prayer seriously enough to do it. We know that prayer is important but many of us are failing to put in the time.
I did a quick survey with our boys home group to find out how much time they spend praying.
The average was about one minute per day. This included Grace at meals and the school assembly prayer.
Obviously not very good stats but these are just ordinary boys so my expectations weren't high.
Then I asked them how many people (adults) they thought came to the Sunday morning prayer session at 9 am before church. One said about 50%, another said 25%. The truth I told them is about 2 people per week and they might pray for 20 minutes together.
So the adults are slightly better than the kids but not much.
My estimate would be that if you are praying 20 minutes per day, it's on the high side for most NZ Christians. I'm on the low side so I'm guilty of neglect. But don't be proud if you're one of the elite ; )
Why is that I asked? They replied
1. They didn't think God would answer them.
2. They thought they were just hearing their own voice, that no one is listening.
3. It's boring.
Good reasons not to bother if true.
We tend to pray for the niceties and the obvious things like giving thanks, asking for a job, praying for a friend who's sick, that sort of thing. It feels like more of a chore than something to get excited about.
Our understanding of prayer has to change if we're going to increase these stats to a winning level.
I introduced the topic of warfare which being boys, suddenly got their interest.
I asked them what was needed to win a battle. They replied;
1. Weapons
2. More population (a bigger army)
3. Tactics
4. Focus / Attack
Well the Bible tells us that Satan only took a 1/3 of the angels with him, so we have got the biggest army!
Who are we fighting against? Not people, not the atheists, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews or anyone else.
Jesus told us to love our enemies, to pray for them and turn the other cheek if they hurt us.
What about enemies like Adolph Hitler. Is it wrong to go to war? No! Wars are started by Governments and we are taught to obey the Government. All Governments are put in place by God.
When I hear of Christians forming their own groups and going to war against ISIS, this is Antichrist. Jesus said love our enemies, do good to those who persecute us.
It's a different situation if your government requires you to pick up arms. I won't go further on this topic (though I could) because we're talking about prayer.
The war Jesus wants us to fight is against Satan, against the evil unseen principalities and powers that rule this world which are the real instigators of human misery.
The purpose of the war is to set the captives free, the people who are bound up in darkness by Satan in sickness, mental illness, addiction, even religion.
To be successful in this war we have to be fully prepared, organised and armed. Our enemy is exceedingly powerful and dangerous. He's not going to let his captives free without a ferocious fight.
His strength is his ruthlessness and cunning.
His weakness is his extreme selfishness and pride.
Never forget, he wants to kill you!
The weapons we need to defeat him are listed in Ephesians 6. There are 6 plus 1! I've always thought there were 6 weapons, now I see there are 7 and that prayer is a weapon of warfare not just for niceties.
1. The Belt of Truth
2. The Breastplate of Righteousness
3. The Shoes of the Gospel
4. The Shield of Faith
5. The Hemet of Salvation
6. The Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God)
7. Pray in the Spirit
Please think carefully what each one is. They are not difficult to understand but they are harder to apply. Ask Jesus to help you prepare for the battle, all of the pieces you should recognise as belonging to him.
If we are fully armed, we will be ready to do battle, to set the captives free. But if we enter battle unprepared and poorly armed, we will be slaughtered.
Next time, we will look at a real spiritual battle to see how it was won and how each weapon was used.
Message 7
Read Matthew 11:20-24
Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Read Exodus 32
Read Revelation 20:11-15
When you're fighting someone it doesn't matter what you do, you just can't win.
They oppose you so whatever position you take, they take the opposite.
Just ask the parent of any rebellious teenager. Then ask the teenager. I'm sure they'll have the opposite view ; )
Yet love will persist despite all opposition, expecting the best from the other person : ) And love never gives up does it?
Well love is dangerous like fire.
Here Jesus arrives back at Capernaum where he had recently done many miracles to find nothing has changed. The people are still living their old rebellious ways. The miracles Jesus has done have not provoked any love for God.
It's like when Moses came down from the mountain to find the people of Israel rebelling in sin and he smashes the Ten Commandments on the ground proclaiming the judgement of God.
Jesus proclaims judgement on the towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum referencing Sodom and Gomorrah who were judged with fire and brimstone by God.
WARNING They say that love can burn out, turn cold. But does eternal love ever burn out? No, eternal love keeps burning forever!
They are only scratching the surface when they say that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Don't mess with Love.
Today is the day of Salvation.
Message 6
Read Matthew 10
No money, no suitcase, hand luggage and God forbid, no mobile phone. Just the clothes you're wearing and your passport...that's it! Who's in?
Actually you'd probably be arrested on suspicion of terrorism these days.
It's the sheer craziness of what Jesus says that gets your attention. Here he sends the disciples out on a mission with nothing. No money, no bag, one piece of clothing only allowed. What's the chances of success do you think?
Our world has gotten very comfortable. To live in the western world is to live in luxury compared to any other time or place.
Was Jesus crazy or was his request reasonable?
Well first of all they were not empty handed. He sends them with power to do the same things he had been doing.
And he sends them to the Jews not the Samaritans or anyone else. So he's sending them to their own people, his brothers and sisters and he's expecting that someone will receive them, accommodate them, feed them and take care of them if they need money just like family.
And in return they have to preach the kingdom, heal the sick, cast out demons. It's a fair exchange for the work they are going to do and the persecution they would face.
Nevertheless, when I read these words they are a big challenge to my faith. They disturb me from my comfort and leave me feeling a bit lost, well short of where I should be. Because behaving in that way will make everyone think you are crazy and probably get you arrested.
It's been a long, long time since I took a risk like that : )
Message 5
Read Matthew 6:9-13
Read Matthew 4:1-11
During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was asked by his disciples how to pray. They had been observing the miracles that he had been doing and they could see Jesus had a hotline to God, a power that had never been seen before. Huge crowds were following Jesus and they knew that change would be coming to their oppressed country.
The prayer that Jesus gave them is recited to this day all over the World. It is a prayer that may be used in every circumstance you may face especially the most difficult ones. Many people, not just Christians know it and it's good thing too. I heard the story of how it saved a dying New Zealander who had a life after death experience. The man was stung by a box jellyfish and the Lord's Prayer was the only way he knew how to talk to God! (The video link is part 2 of 4 but I would encourage you to watch all 4 parts).
This prayer was very personal to Jesus. The recent experience in the desert being tempted by the Devil was fresh in Jesus mind and you can hear that in the prayer.
There were 3 temptations Jesus faced and the response lines from the prayer are in brackets;
- To turn stones to bread ("Give us this day our daily bread")
- To throw himself from the temple so the angels would save him ("Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil")
- To receive all the kingdoms of the world if he would worship the Devil ("Our Father who is in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven")
No wonder then, having experienced the most difficult life and death struggle himself, Jesus taught his disciples to pray "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil".
If it wasn't for Jesus' trials in the desert perhaps we would never have received the blessing of the Lord's Prayer. God can turn our Trials into Gold!
Message 4
Read Matthew 8
There is no guarantee of success no matter how many proofs you give people.
Even though someone has heard the Gospel and knows it true, even if they see a great miracle it doesn't mean they will believe.
It's the hardest thing to take if you love someone, that they will walk away and you'll never see them again in time or eternity.
In the first part of the passage, in his new home town of Capernaum, Jesus heals a leper, a paralysed boy with a fever, all the demon possessed and sick that were brought to him.
But then he crosses the lake to another country and there the people reject him. Even the wind and the waves tried to stop him going! Sometimes the very elements fight against us when we do God's work. But Jesus stops the killer storm so he can save two madmen from their demons. At the end of the passage, the entire population came rushing out to see Jesus to beg him to go away and leave them alone.
They were happier to live in darkness because they'd grown comfortable with it and were frightened by the Light.
It is so sad. There is something deep within all of us that is hostile towards God.
It is the greatest miracle of all that someone finds faith in this dark world and is saved.
A favourite song to cheer me up after reading that passage : The Outlaw
Message 3
Read Matthew 5-7
The entertainment industry knows very well that if you are loud and spectacular you will get the attention of a crowd. They spend obscene amounts of money to dress themselves up using advanced technology, amplification and special effects to greatly enhance their product (even if it isn't very good) because these simple tricks will help sell in huge quantities.
It is not the quality of the product that sells, it is the marketing, the perception of value rather than it's true value.
But the experience of something of low value doesn't satisfy anyone, it will leave you hungry and thirsty. If you knew beforehand that something was of low quality and a superior product was available, you might be prepared to wait - but then again a lot of people can't be bothered. They'll take the cheap version even if doesn't last.
This is why the greatest works of art are rarely recognised in their own time. The quality of work is extremely high, but it takes a very long time to produce something that good and people just aren't prepared to wait. At least a later generation will appreciate it!
I suppose a good comparison is between a wife and a prostitute.
The crowds of people came to listen to Jesus speaking. The Sermon on the Mount is stunning for more than just it's content. A sermon doesn't normally get many peoples attention. At least that is my experience whenever I speak ; ) His words had power because he had been given authority from Heaven (Matthew 7:29). With Rock Music you can turn the volume up but his amplifier was nothing more than the echo around the mountain and the winds blowing up from the Sea of Galilee. The Cinema can enhance a story with special effects but the views from the mountain to the lake were enough of a backdrop in the minds of the people listening.
When I went to Paris, I saw the great works of art in the Louvre and in the Musée d'Orsay. You look in silence but you hear and feel so many things, some of them I'm sure the artist could not even imagine! But shortly after you walk away, you forget those thoughts and feelings.
Jesus wants you to have more than just thoughts and feelings that quickly disappear. He concluded his sermon with these words “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Which is why the Sermon on the Mount is much more than a great work of art.
Message 2
Read Matthew 4:18-22
I was born in England where football is the national game. I've been a football supporter since 1971. But in 1974, our family emigrated to New Zealand. In NZ, you can't call it football, it's a sacred word. Rugby Football is the national game and number 1 religion. You will offend the natives if you call it that so we call it Soccer instead. In fact when I was growing up, you were severely mocked for liking a "girls game". Religions are highly intolerant as we all know : )
I recently became assistant director for an organisation called SoccerPlus. It's not like becoming a director of a big company. There is no pay for a kickoff and I don't remember having a job interview : )
The organisation runs a number of programmes at a local level in the schools and in the community, at a national and international level being approached by well known names in world football as well as soccer missions all around the world. It's been amazing the growth of SoccerPlus since being formed in 1998. I'll write some more about that later but you can check their website.
I'm away at a Soccer Camp this weekend preparing for a tournament that the NZ Crosswhites are taking part in Sydney at the end of September. I'm writing this from a couch in a lounge at the camp to escape from my cabin partner who warned me he snores very loudly.
What is happening is far greater than someone could imagine from little New Zealand. In fact the director Kim Beale says it's not him doing it. In a way, he doesn't plan anything but instead receives invites to participate in events all around the world, so many that he has to turn most of them down.
What I am seeing is a principle in action that I haven't experienced to this extent before. Religion is about earning a blessing from God. It's all work, there is no real rest. In Hinduism and Buddhism, it's Karma. In Islam, it's about making sure your good deeds outweigh your bad ones. In Catholicism you pay for your sins in purgatory to earn your way to Heaven. Those are all the religions I know but all of them are the same in that you have to work to be paid.
But Jesus said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." The work he gives us isn't really work as we know it as it is easy, is suited to us and a pleasure for us to do.
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
The next thing Jesus did at the start of his ministry, was to go walking by the Lake of Galilee near his home town of Nazareth. There, he saw some fishermen, 2 brothers Simon Peter and Andrew and he called them to come and follow him. He said "I will make you fishers of men!". Just a little further on he saw 2 more fisherman, also brothers, James and John and he called them too and immediately they left their nets and followed him. Jesus was going to take them from a good job in a place they felt comfortable in and he was going to transform their work to something far greater at a local, national and finally international level. They could not have imagined what was going to happen living in their small town.
As we start the journey of Lent, I'm reminded that we are starting a journey to something greater and exciting than we can imagine. But we have to leave our nets to follow him!
 |
| Totara Springs, Matamata - February 2015 |
Message 1
I don't intend to write a whole lot of messages for Lent but if I get anything, I'll pass it on to you : ) As the days draw closer to Easter, the messages might get a little bit wilder like John the Baptist and you know what happened to him.
John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin, 6 months older than Jesus. John was the feisty fearless type, Jesus the peaceful quiet son who avoided the limelight and was rarely in trouble with anyone.
Jesus was living the quiet life in Nazareth with his parents when his cousin John began preaching in the desert the confrontational message "Turn from your sins, turn to God for the Kingdom of Heaven is coming soon"
This message made John a lot of enemies in high places and eventually got him killed.
We may not like to hear that we need to turn from our sins. It's a negative message. So we don't hear the positive side of the message "turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is coming soon"
What do you feel in your heart when you hear the Gospel? Do you hate the sound of it and want to run the other way? It was the non-religious people who responded positively to John's message. The religious people hated the message that they were sinners too and needed to turn from their sins!
Jesus went to be baptised by John in the Jordan River. Imagine that! God's Son identified himself with sinners from the start! Someone who didn't need to turn from his sin went to be baptised like any other sinner needs to.
John recognised the situation as very strange. He felt that Jesus should be baptising him!
Nevertheless, the baptism went ahead and Jesus was blessed by God announcing from Heaven that Jesus was his Son.
The next thing was that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the Devil. I read a commentary on Lent today that got this event around the wrong way! The person said that after Jesus fasted, God blessed him, but it was the other way around!
Religion thinks we earn God's blessing from the works we do but the wonderful truth is it's the opposite. Because of Gods love and grace towards us we are blessed by becoming Gods son or daughter by simply believing in Jesus (the Gospel)! Because of this blessing, we are then able to do the work he calls us to do.
Immediately following Jesus triumph over temptation in the desert, his ministry begins. This man, Gods Son, who had been living the quiet life in a backwater town was almost reluctantly thrust into the limelight. He was the Light that would change the whole world.
But before that could happen, his loved cousin would be tragically removed from the story. John was arrested and put in prison, soon to be beheaded.
This was the personal event that started Jesus on his Mission. He took up John's message and began preaching "Turn from sin, turn to God for the Kingdom of Heaven is near".
But Jesus' calling was greater than John's. The Kingdom of Heaven that John had preached was coming soon, had arrived with Jesus.
Sometimes in our lives or in history, sad things happen that lead to something greater that God has planned from the beginning.
It wasn't long before Jesus was preaching the Good News about the Kingdom and healing every sickness, disease, mental illness and demonic possession he encountered to prove his message was true.
John's message had prepared the way but Jesus is The Way, The Truth, The Life!
