Measuring Your Light Speed – Mark 4:21-25
By Pastor Lee Hemen
November 15, 2009 AM
I loved physics in school, especially the labs. It was fascinating to set up experiments. One of the labs we had to do was measure how fast is the speed of light. The speed of light is approximately 186,000 miles per second or exactly 299,792,458 meters per second. The web site instructables.com teaches you how to measure it in your kitchen using a large bar of chocolate, a microwave, and a metric ruler. You take the turntable out of the microwave, place the chocolate bar, usually only three squares of a large bar, inside on a paper plate, and turn the microwave on high and wait for pools of melted chocolate to form. Zap the chocolate for about 40 to 50 seconds. Then carefully take the chocolate out and measure between hotspots with the metric ruler. When you measure between hotspots it represents the half wavelengths of light. You multiply this number by two, and then multiply that answer by the frequency of your microwave. This is usually 2,450,000,000 hertz or 2.45 gigahertz. That will give you the speed in centimeters per second.
However, the speed of the light of the gospel is instantaneous in that its message is always available and immediate in its impact on the life of an individual. Mark continues his account of Jesus using parables to teach about the kingdom of God and the gospel. And, here we find him teaching us that the gospel is to be shared and never hidden away. Jesus meant for his disciples to be light bearers of his gospel message after he returned to heaven. Jesus' disciples were to share the gospel at “light speed.” In fact, all of Jesus’ followers are to share the gospel message. So let me ask you a question this morning: What is your light speed? Let’s find out what Jesus says…
READ: Mark 4:21-25
We have all heard or sung the words, “The Light of the World is Jesus,” but what does that mean? While we may understand that it refers to the gospel message, in that understanding there is also an responsibility. It is a responsibility that has not disappeared with time, with modern conveniences, or the neglect of Christianity today. We learn from Mark that…
I. A Christian measures their light-speed by not hiding their light source! (Vv. 21-22)
1. A lamp has to be lit by someone! In this parable Jesus pointed out the self-evident fact that an ordinary household lamp, a lighted wick in a shallow clay bowl full of oil, was not meant to be lit and then hidden under a measuring bowl (as was done at bedtime) or a bed (lit., “dining couch”). It would be useless! Rather, it was to be placed on its stand in a prominent place where it would give off the most light. Why? Because Jesus knew that even a small light source can illuminate an entire darkened room! This why he asked, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand?” Often Jewish homes of the day were simply lit by one lamp! It was not only all they could afford but it was all that was really needed. We live in a day and age whereby we take for granted the cheap abundant electricity that lights our homes. All we do is flick a switch and we have instant light and it is not uncommon for us to have several lamps to illuminate any room of our house. During Jesus’ time they used simple clay bowls and placed a piece of cord for a wick into a small amount of olive oil. Olive oil was used because it was plentiful and cheap. However, while it gave off a warm glow it was a poor light source compared to today’s lighting, and you had to constantly trim the wicks. But any light in dark room was better than nothing when you needed to see! Then, Jesus continues by explaining that whatever was hidden or concealed (during the night – meaning the sin-darkened world) was meant to be brought out into the open (for use in the day – during the time of salvation when the gospel light would shine in the dark). Jesus used this story from everyday life to convey a spiritual truth for anyone willing to see by its light. Christians need to be a source of gospel light in a sin-darkened world! And just as you would not hide a lamp under a bowl the believer should not hide their gospel light either! This is why Jesus told his followers that “whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.” He knew that believers can forget about the sin-darkened world around them. In fact, we discover that a Christian measures their light-speed by not hiding their light source – the gospel message of Jesus!
EXAMPLE: Just as we take for granted the electricity that illuminates our homes, we forget about the ambient light that fills our daily lives. Every home, every office, every building we enter is illuminated by instant electrical power. And the ambient light encroaches on our senses and life in that at night we cannot see the celestial panoply that journeys overhead. We have to get far from the lights of the cities we live in, in order to see what was common in Jesus’ day. It is no wonder that one small lamp lit inside of a dark house, in a city that had no street lamps, office buildings, or neon glow to encroach on the senses, was welcomed and seen as a warm, friendly, and comforting thing. After all the night held the hidden dangers of thieves, robbers, or those who liked to hide in the darkened corridors of the village. Nighttime was no place for a respectable person to journey. The dark was seen as the realm of sinful people and represented the sin-condition of mankind for the Hebrew. But now, through Jesus, one small lamp was lit that would illuminate the entire world! And in our world today Christians often take for granted the ambient light of the gospel they are surrounded by. We fill our lives with Christian music, books, radio, and television. We go see Christian movies and go to church where we fellowship with other Christians. There is nothing wrong with this, but there is a danger because in doing so, we can become used to the ambient light of the gospel we enjoy. Jesus would remind us that a Christian measures their light-speed by not hiding their light source!
What is truly distressing is that far too many believers have never shared their faith. Christians have conceded the command of Christ to hired guns instead, thinking that by paying for someone else to do the command that Jesus has given them, they will somehow be let off the hook. But is this true? Not if the Christian takes the parables of Jesus seriously. Here in Mark we discover that…
II. A Christian measures their light-speed by listening and doing the Master’s command! (Vv. 23-25)
1. Light is only good when it is shared! There was a reason why Jesus bluntly told his disciples that “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” He did not think they were deaf, but they had proven to be rather dense on occasion! Jesus knew that there would soon come a time when “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” (Mark 10:26) Jesus knew he would soon leave his followers on their own and who would share the gospel light then? The gospel would be proclaimed by those who followed his command to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15) Jesus taught that if someone accepts the message of the gospel, they are responsible for what they have responded to! This is why Jesus continued by telling his listeners that they needed to “Consider carefully what” they heard. The gospel, the good news of salvation through Jesus, is more then a life’s philosophy or a creed to live by. It is the life-changing and Holy Spirit renewal of a person’s very being. They are eternally changed. This is why it was not some mere suggestion on Jesus’ part, but a command. Otherwise his death, burial, and resurrection would be mute occurrence soon forgotten by everyone involved! All Christians would do well to take very seriously Jesus’ command to share the gospel light wherever they go because he reminds us that “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.” In fact, “Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” Wow! Does this mean we can lose our salvation if we do not witness to others with the light of the gospel? No, but it does mean we will not be the disciples God desires. Instead of a lamp that lights a whole room, we will be but dim bulbs barely illuminating the sin-darkened corner of our own pathetic self-centered lives. Jesus teaches us here in Mark that a Christian measures their light-speed by listening and doing the Master’s command!
EXAMPLE: According to publiceye.org evangelicals number about 23% of the population or approximately 66 to 70 million born-again believers. If this is even remotely true, if each person just shared their faith once a week, which would be 280 million times a month! If just one person out of 20 accepted the Lord, that would be 14,000,000 people accepting Christ each month! Instead what we do is allow our fear to dictate what we are commanded to do. Less than 1 out of 100 Christians have ever shared their faith at anytime during their entire lives! In other words, a believer could live to be 80 years old and only share their faith once, if at all! Sadly, when people are challenged to share their faith, they often leave the churches that encourage them to do so out of some convoluted personal guilt. So churches have taught heresy instead in order to make their listeners feel good about themselves. Churches teach that folks can share by being good and kind by being some kind of godly Boy Scout holding a dim flashlight in a sin-dark world. In fact it has been discovered that many mega churches depend on smaller churches as feeder churches to do the hard work of witnessing and discipleship to fill their ranks! However very few within the multitudes the show up for the show on Sunday have ever shared their faith or disciples anyone! And why would they? There is obscurity in numbers and no one ever holds them accountable! Stickers on your bumper or a good gospel Sunday show cannot replace the one-on-one command of Jesus to go and share the light of the world. We discover here in Mark that a Christian is to measure their light-speed by listening and doing the Master’s command!
Conclusion:
1) A Christian measures their light-speed by not hiding their light source, and 2) A Christian measures their light-speed by listening and doing the Master’s command!
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Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission...
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Gospel Gardening - Mark 4:10-20
Gospel Gardening - Mark 4:10-20
by Pastor Lee Hemen
November 8, 2009 AM
Have you ever tried to explain something to someone who could not understand a word of what you were saying? No matter how hard you tried, they simply could not grasp the concepts you were trying to get across to them? I have. Especially when it concerns computer instructions or problems. I can relate to software or computer technicians that help folks over the phone on just how difficult it is to get concepts across. The person you are talking to needs to have a rudimentary understanding of computers, Microsoft Windows, and how they work together. And, contrary to what the Mac commercials you see on TV want you to believe, they have a multitude of problems just as PCs and Microsoft does.
Jesus used parables but they were not deliberately “mystic” nor was he trying to initiate people into some deeper religious practice. Rather, he spoke in parables so that those who had already been sensitized by the Holy Spirit would understand. We find Jesus talking about the subject of gospel gardening. His disciples did not understand what in the world he was talking about, so they privately ask him to explain it to them. Let's discover what Jesus meant as we also learn about gospel gardening today...
READ: Mark 4:10-20
I can remember trying to understand for the first time how to fertilize, moss kill, and take care of my lawn! Then I discovered that I had to weed my own flower beds! (Well, we heard how I feel about that last week. I just thank the Lord for my Weed Eater and Casoron crystals.) Gardening, while a very familiar thing for many of us, can be confusing when it is applied to spiritual concepts. Today, we find Jesus explaining the meaning of his parable of gospel gardening to his followers. We discover that…
I. The mystery of God’s gospel garden can be understood by those chosen of God! (Vv. 10-13)
1. God’s followers become his farmers in the world! When we are chosen of God, as I related last week, we immediately become one of his gardeners. Surprisingly, we find that Jesus’ disciples did not understand what Jesus was teaching with his parables. So, “When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.” Jesus begins to patiently explain to them its meaning. As his farmers they would go “out to sow… seed.” And, as such “The secret of the kingdom of God [had] been given to” them. The idea here is not one of secrecy but that of “mystery” (Greek: mustērion), and this mystery was now fully revealed to them. The mystery Jesus is speaking of is not some mysterious religious rite, but the gospel truth that salvation comes by faith in God’s messiah – Jesus himself! However, “to those on the outside everything is said in parables.” Those on the “outside” are those who were not chosen by God—the world. Jesus said that it was “so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’” The age of Jesus was the arena where the gospel seed would first be sown only to those whom God had chosen to follow him at that time. Later, these would be the ones to sow the gospel seed to the world. Therefore, the gospel mystery would not be disclosed to everyone at that time on purpose. Why? Jesus had not died for mankind’s sins. Even the Old Testament prophets did not fully understand this truth! Paul related that it was “the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him!” (Romans 16:25-26) This is why Jesus asked his disciples, “Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?” Jesus hoped those he had chosen would understand the gospel message, the seed, contained within the parable. He knew that the mystery of God’s garden could be understood by those chosen of God!
EXAMPLE: I can remember as a young boy building tree houses and forts and then posting bold notices on the outside of them that would read: “No girls allowed!” After all, what self-respecting boy would allow cootie-ridden girls into their secret club!? Right? Of course the girls on the playground had their own secret societies that used cryptic languages such as pig-Latin or other things like Barbie-speak! (Don’t ask, I never could understand it.) However, this is not what Jesus was doing by using his parables. He did not use special language to exclude, but rather to see who would understand the spiritual truth they contained. Those who understood showed that they were chosen of God to hear and understand his message, and it would be these who would later cast the gospel seed. Jesus knew that the mystery of God’s garden could be understood by those chosen of God!
The soil here at the church is far different from the soil found out in the Orchards area where I live. While it is hard during the summer, it is easy to work in the winter, fall or spring. Whereas the soil out in Orchards is like concrete no matter what season of the year! It is full of rocks large, small, and all sizes in-between. It is amazing to me that anything grows in it at all. In fact, the trees out where I live, unless you provide and very large hole for them that goes deeper than the rock layer, their roots will be extremely shallow. This is why a lot of fir trees out where I live are always in danger of blowing over during big wind storms. We also discover from Jesus that…
II. The gospel garden of God consists of a variety of soils! (Vv. 14-20)
1. Sin-sick soiled souls will either accept or reject the gospel seed! The follower “farmer sows the word of God”, but he is not to notice the soil he tosses the seed on. Jesus gives his listeners three negative responses of how people respond and one positive one. 1) “Some” hear the word with a kind of hardhearted indifference. They “are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.” Satan is like the blackbirds that come immediately and steal the seed away as soon as it is cast. In effect, there is no response. 2) “Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.” They immediately take the Word with great outer enthusiasm, but since it is only a shallow acceptance “they have no root” and “last only a short time.” In fact, “When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.” These people are like many in the world today. The word really takes no root in them at all. They love the sound of its goodness, but literally they “are repelled” by its message because it requires personal change. Their profession proves not to be genuine. 3) “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” These weeds of the world choke the word, making it unfruitful in the life of the hearer, indicating they were probably not true believers in the first place. The word of God was only a convenience for them when it brought them happiness, but when real life hits them, they cannot continue to walk in it. They are totally unfruitful their entire lives. But finally, 4) “Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.” These are the ones whom God has chosen and they are like fertile ground just waiting for the gospel seed to take root in their lives. The gospel garden of God consists of a variety of soils!
EXAMPLE: I can remember hiking the length of Colockum Creek as a young boy. There were places a long its banks that contained ash deposits, clays of red, grey, green, and white, and fossils of many kinds. We would take the clay soils, mix them with water, and then paint our bodies all over with it. We looked like something out of a Amazon jungle movie, but man was it fun! Then we would run and hit the water and splash each other until it was all washed off. It was amazing to discover all the different soils along the banks of Colockum Creek. Jesus also taught about soils as well. He taught that the gospel garden of God consists of a variety of soils.
Conclusion:
We discovered Jesus talking about the subject of gospel gardening. His disciples did not understand what in the world he was talking about, so they privately ask him to explain it to them. He related that 1) the mystery of God’s garden could be understood by those chosen of God, and that 2) the gospel garden of God consists of a variety of soils.
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my written permission.
by Pastor Lee Hemen
November 8, 2009 AM
Have you ever tried to explain something to someone who could not understand a word of what you were saying? No matter how hard you tried, they simply could not grasp the concepts you were trying to get across to them? I have. Especially when it concerns computer instructions or problems. I can relate to software or computer technicians that help folks over the phone on just how difficult it is to get concepts across. The person you are talking to needs to have a rudimentary understanding of computers, Microsoft Windows, and how they work together. And, contrary to what the Mac commercials you see on TV want you to believe, they have a multitude of problems just as PCs and Microsoft does.
Jesus used parables but they were not deliberately “mystic” nor was he trying to initiate people into some deeper religious practice. Rather, he spoke in parables so that those who had already been sensitized by the Holy Spirit would understand. We find Jesus talking about the subject of gospel gardening. His disciples did not understand what in the world he was talking about, so they privately ask him to explain it to them. Let's discover what Jesus meant as we also learn about gospel gardening today...
READ: Mark 4:10-20
I can remember trying to understand for the first time how to fertilize, moss kill, and take care of my lawn! Then I discovered that I had to weed my own flower beds! (Well, we heard how I feel about that last week. I just thank the Lord for my Weed Eater and Casoron crystals.) Gardening, while a very familiar thing for many of us, can be confusing when it is applied to spiritual concepts. Today, we find Jesus explaining the meaning of his parable of gospel gardening to his followers. We discover that…
I. The mystery of God’s gospel garden can be understood by those chosen of God! (Vv. 10-13)
1. God’s followers become his farmers in the world! When we are chosen of God, as I related last week, we immediately become one of his gardeners. Surprisingly, we find that Jesus’ disciples did not understand what Jesus was teaching with his parables. So, “When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.” Jesus begins to patiently explain to them its meaning. As his farmers they would go “out to sow… seed.” And, as such “The secret of the kingdom of God [had] been given to” them. The idea here is not one of secrecy but that of “mystery” (Greek: mustērion), and this mystery was now fully revealed to them. The mystery Jesus is speaking of is not some mysterious religious rite, but the gospel truth that salvation comes by faith in God’s messiah – Jesus himself! However, “to those on the outside everything is said in parables.” Those on the “outside” are those who were not chosen by God—the world. Jesus said that it was “so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’” The age of Jesus was the arena where the gospel seed would first be sown only to those whom God had chosen to follow him at that time. Later, these would be the ones to sow the gospel seed to the world. Therefore, the gospel mystery would not be disclosed to everyone at that time on purpose. Why? Jesus had not died for mankind’s sins. Even the Old Testament prophets did not fully understand this truth! Paul related that it was “the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him!” (Romans 16:25-26) This is why Jesus asked his disciples, “Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?” Jesus hoped those he had chosen would understand the gospel message, the seed, contained within the parable. He knew that the mystery of God’s garden could be understood by those chosen of God!
EXAMPLE: I can remember as a young boy building tree houses and forts and then posting bold notices on the outside of them that would read: “No girls allowed!” After all, what self-respecting boy would allow cootie-ridden girls into their secret club!? Right? Of course the girls on the playground had their own secret societies that used cryptic languages such as pig-Latin or other things like Barbie-speak! (Don’t ask, I never could understand it.) However, this is not what Jesus was doing by using his parables. He did not use special language to exclude, but rather to see who would understand the spiritual truth they contained. Those who understood showed that they were chosen of God to hear and understand his message, and it would be these who would later cast the gospel seed. Jesus knew that the mystery of God’s garden could be understood by those chosen of God!
The soil here at the church is far different from the soil found out in the Orchards area where I live. While it is hard during the summer, it is easy to work in the winter, fall or spring. Whereas the soil out in Orchards is like concrete no matter what season of the year! It is full of rocks large, small, and all sizes in-between. It is amazing to me that anything grows in it at all. In fact, the trees out where I live, unless you provide and very large hole for them that goes deeper than the rock layer, their roots will be extremely shallow. This is why a lot of fir trees out where I live are always in danger of blowing over during big wind storms. We also discover from Jesus that…
II. The gospel garden of God consists of a variety of soils! (Vv. 14-20)
1. Sin-sick soiled souls will either accept or reject the gospel seed! The follower “farmer sows the word of God”, but he is not to notice the soil he tosses the seed on. Jesus gives his listeners three negative responses of how people respond and one positive one. 1) “Some” hear the word with a kind of hardhearted indifference. They “are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.” Satan is like the blackbirds that come immediately and steal the seed away as soon as it is cast. In effect, there is no response. 2) “Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.” They immediately take the Word with great outer enthusiasm, but since it is only a shallow acceptance “they have no root” and “last only a short time.” In fact, “When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.” These people are like many in the world today. The word really takes no root in them at all. They love the sound of its goodness, but literally they “are repelled” by its message because it requires personal change. Their profession proves not to be genuine. 3) “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” These weeds of the world choke the word, making it unfruitful in the life of the hearer, indicating they were probably not true believers in the first place. The word of God was only a convenience for them when it brought them happiness, but when real life hits them, they cannot continue to walk in it. They are totally unfruitful their entire lives. But finally, 4) “Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.” These are the ones whom God has chosen and they are like fertile ground just waiting for the gospel seed to take root in their lives. The gospel garden of God consists of a variety of soils!
EXAMPLE: I can remember hiking the length of Colockum Creek as a young boy. There were places a long its banks that contained ash deposits, clays of red, grey, green, and white, and fossils of many kinds. We would take the clay soils, mix them with water, and then paint our bodies all over with it. We looked like something out of a Amazon jungle movie, but man was it fun! Then we would run and hit the water and splash each other until it was all washed off. It was amazing to discover all the different soils along the banks of Colockum Creek. Jesus also taught about soils as well. He taught that the gospel garden of God consists of a variety of soils.
Conclusion:
We discovered Jesus talking about the subject of gospel gardening. His disciples did not understand what in the world he was talking about, so they privately ask him to explain it to them. He related that 1) the mystery of God’s garden could be understood by those chosen of God, and that 2) the gospel garden of God consists of a variety of soils.
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my written permission.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Parables for A Purpose - Mark 4:1-9
Parables for A Purpose - Mark 4:1-9
By Pastor Lee Hemen
November 1, 2009 AM
Seeds are such small superbly created things and yet mankind depends upon these tiny treasures from God in order to feed, cloth, or shelter himself. From a small seed can grow huge trees or the lowly squash. In fact, the maple that is growing outside of my front door is a tree that was started from a small seed. It now produces its own seedlings from helicopter-like seeds scattered by the wind around my yard and flower beds. It is amazing to me the message of God can be found in such a tiny thing, and that is why we find Jesus using the illustration of seeds to depict the kingdom of heaven and those who hear its message or not.Jesus often used parables in his teaching. Stories, that over and over again, his listeners had heard many times before, but he always put a new twist on them. And, Jesus used things that were familiar to his listeners. Many either ate for the day or went hungry depending upon how seeds were planted. It depended upon if there was enough rain or if the ground could support the seeds cast on it for a crop. So this morning we find Jesus using seeds in parables for a purpose. Let's find out how he does and perhaps discover exactly why...
READ: Mark 4:1-9
If you go on to read the verses that follow after the ones we are looking at today you will discover that Jesus explains the meaning of his using the parable he did. We will discuss his explanation to his disciples next week, but today's verses came alive to me in a whole new way and I wanted to share with you some thoughts about why I believe Jesus used parables with a purpose. Jesus often had several motivations for using the examples he did, and here we discover that...
I. Seeds need someone to plant them everywhere they go!
1. All believers are "farmers" planting the seeds of God's word! Notice that another large crowd had gathered. So much so that Jesus "got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge." He begins his teaching by saying, "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed." Why use the example of a farmer? I believe Jesus knew that he would not be the only "farmer" to plant the word of God. In fact, his whole purpose of using these stories was not only to gain listeners who understood them, but to teach those whom he had chosen. Jesus' disciples and apostles would, in a few short years, take his place as the main means of planting the gospel seed (the Word of God) and so it had better take root in their lives first. Jesus also understood you cannot plant seeds if you do not have any to plant! These men needed to understand that they would be the ones who would go out into the fields that were ready for planting to scatter the gospel seeds. It is from those seeds that these men scattered as they walked and talked and taught that we today are sitting here listening anew to the parables of Jesus! And as Jesus' spiritual farmers (disciples) sent out into the world, they were not to be overly concerned about the soil to see if it was ready for the gospel seed or not. They were just to go out and sow the seed! Over and over we find Jesus telling his followers to "go" and share the gospel. It would not always be easy. Later, Jesus would instruct them, "And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them" (Mark 6:11 NIV), because sometimes they would scatter it where it was tough, hard, or rocky and they would need to depend solely on the Spirit of God to cause it to germinate in the minds of their listeners. This spiritual truth remains the same this morning. After his resurrection, Jesus told his followers: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:15-16 NIV) The gospel seeds need someone, Jesus' follower farmers, to plant them everywhere they go! This is why Jesus used parables with a purpose. Are you willing to be God's farmer and scatter his seed in a sin-soiled world?
EXAMPLE: As a follower farmer some of your gospel seed will fall along the path, some will fall on rocky places and it will not have much soil to grow in, while sometimes it may fall on good rich soil and it will produce an abundant crop for the kingdom of God. I was struck by the fact, when I first read the Little House on the Prairie books, how the farmers of that era were so dependent upon finding the right place to grow their crops when they moved west. In fact, some settlers when they got here in to the Pacific Northwest thought that because of the huge trees the soil here was rich and fertile. They readily cut down the trees and planted seeds only to discover that the soil was thin and not fertile. The trees and the abundant rain had literally leeched the nutrients out of the ground and left hardly anything behind. However, no matter where you go the common dandelion grows quite well. It has been said, and I am not sure if this is true or not, that this tiny seed was brought here, like the tumble weed, from foreign soil and spread across the country and world by settlers. And it grows anywhere it is planted, kind of like the gospel seed. That is if someone like you who is a follower farmer for the Lord scatters it everywhere you go.
I love gardening but I hate to weed. I believe that's why God created the gas-powered weed whacker! With a few deft strokes and lots of monofilament line you can pulverize any weed that dares grow in your flower beds. For the really tough and woody ones you can attach a mini-saw blade! Of course you can also pulverize your flowers as well! Some plants are just pansies when it comes to growing. A funny fact though is the feral weedy cousin of the pansy, the Johnny Jump Up, that will grow just about anywhere! Watering, weeding, waiting - all of this is good horticulture. Here we find Jesus using parables for a purpose in teaching us about good horticulture. Here's what I mean: We discover that...
II. Seeds need the right conditions to grow strong!
1. Believers should know the basics of spiritual horticulture! You cannot always plant a seed and then walk away and expect it to grow. Sometimes, you may have to cultivate it, water it, and make sure it gets the right amount of sunshine! Or should I say, "SON-shine!" Anyway, Jesus knew that his follower farmers would need to become gardeners, mentors, and disciplers of his message. Caretakers of the kingdom of God need to spend time in the flower or vegetable beds they planted or they may dry up from legalism, burn from over exposure to heresy, or be watered-soaked through lackadaisical emergent behavior. I believe this is implied in Jesus saying that "some fell along the path...", "some fell on rocky places...", "other seed fell among thorns...", and " Still other seed fell on good soil!" Jesus wanted his follower farmers to also understand that the gospel seed needs the right conditions to grow strong! The Apostle Paul understood his part in planting and making sure the gospel seed had the right conditions when he wrote: "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor." (1 Corinthians 3:6-8 NIV) Paul knew that Christians are "God's fellow workers" and that we work for God in "God's field." (1 Corinthians 3:9) God knows that new seedlings need good gardeners to make sure that they "will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming." (Ephesians 4:11-14 NIV) Jesus knew this as well and used parables for a purpose to tacitly teach his follower farmers that newly planted seeds need the right conditions to grow strong! All follower farmers of the Lord should know the basics of good spiritual horticulture. Do you? Who are you mentoring?
EXAMPLE: Christians should understand that Jesus is "the true vine" and that God the Father "is the gardener," but his followers are the mentors. In fact it is God who "cuts off every branch in [Jesus] that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (John 15:1-2 NIV) That is spiritual horticulture at its best. But believers are to know the basics of spiritual horticulture as well. I know that if I want a lot of good apples without worms in them I must prune my tree and apply the right kind of insecticide and fertilizer. Sometimes, you have to get really aggressive with both pruning and spraying. Sure you can let a tree go wild and it will produce fruit, but it will be wormy and the tree will be in poor condition. The same holds true for God's people. They have to be discipled after the gospel seed is planted and takes root in their lives or they will be in spiritually poor condition and produce wormy ungodly fruit. Sadly, we find that in many churches today, but the spiritual truth Jesus taught still holds true today: Seeds need the right conditions to grow strong! Believers should know the basics of spiritual horticulture.
Conclusion:
Next week we will learn that the disciples come and ask Jesus privately about the parables and why he taught using them so often. The crowds did not truly understand Jesus and we learned in the last several weeks that they only wanted what they could get out of Jesus. Here we find that Jesus used parables for a purpose. He often taught several spiritual truths at once by doing so. This morning we discovered that 1) Seeds need someone to plant them everywhere they go, and that 2) Seeds need the right conditions to grow strong!
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my written permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
November 1, 2009 AM
Seeds are such small superbly created things and yet mankind depends upon these tiny treasures from God in order to feed, cloth, or shelter himself. From a small seed can grow huge trees or the lowly squash. In fact, the maple that is growing outside of my front door is a tree that was started from a small seed. It now produces its own seedlings from helicopter-like seeds scattered by the wind around my yard and flower beds. It is amazing to me the message of God can be found in such a tiny thing, and that is why we find Jesus using the illustration of seeds to depict the kingdom of heaven and those who hear its message or not.Jesus often used parables in his teaching. Stories, that over and over again, his listeners had heard many times before, but he always put a new twist on them. And, Jesus used things that were familiar to his listeners. Many either ate for the day or went hungry depending upon how seeds were planted. It depended upon if there was enough rain or if the ground could support the seeds cast on it for a crop. So this morning we find Jesus using seeds in parables for a purpose. Let's find out how he does and perhaps discover exactly why...
READ: Mark 4:1-9
If you go on to read the verses that follow after the ones we are looking at today you will discover that Jesus explains the meaning of his using the parable he did. We will discuss his explanation to his disciples next week, but today's verses came alive to me in a whole new way and I wanted to share with you some thoughts about why I believe Jesus used parables with a purpose. Jesus often had several motivations for using the examples he did, and here we discover that...
I. Seeds need someone to plant them everywhere they go!
1. All believers are "farmers" planting the seeds of God's word! Notice that another large crowd had gathered. So much so that Jesus "got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge." He begins his teaching by saying, "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed." Why use the example of a farmer? I believe Jesus knew that he would not be the only "farmer" to plant the word of God. In fact, his whole purpose of using these stories was not only to gain listeners who understood them, but to teach those whom he had chosen. Jesus' disciples and apostles would, in a few short years, take his place as the main means of planting the gospel seed (the Word of God) and so it had better take root in their lives first. Jesus also understood you cannot plant seeds if you do not have any to plant! These men needed to understand that they would be the ones who would go out into the fields that were ready for planting to scatter the gospel seeds. It is from those seeds that these men scattered as they walked and talked and taught that we today are sitting here listening anew to the parables of Jesus! And as Jesus' spiritual farmers (disciples) sent out into the world, they were not to be overly concerned about the soil to see if it was ready for the gospel seed or not. They were just to go out and sow the seed! Over and over we find Jesus telling his followers to "go" and share the gospel. It would not always be easy. Later, Jesus would instruct them, "And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them" (Mark 6:11 NIV), because sometimes they would scatter it where it was tough, hard, or rocky and they would need to depend solely on the Spirit of God to cause it to germinate in the minds of their listeners. This spiritual truth remains the same this morning. After his resurrection, Jesus told his followers: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:15-16 NIV) The gospel seeds need someone, Jesus' follower farmers, to plant them everywhere they go! This is why Jesus used parables with a purpose. Are you willing to be God's farmer and scatter his seed in a sin-soiled world?
EXAMPLE: As a follower farmer some of your gospel seed will fall along the path, some will fall on rocky places and it will not have much soil to grow in, while sometimes it may fall on good rich soil and it will produce an abundant crop for the kingdom of God. I was struck by the fact, when I first read the Little House on the Prairie books, how the farmers of that era were so dependent upon finding the right place to grow their crops when they moved west. In fact, some settlers when they got here in to the Pacific Northwest thought that because of the huge trees the soil here was rich and fertile. They readily cut down the trees and planted seeds only to discover that the soil was thin and not fertile. The trees and the abundant rain had literally leeched the nutrients out of the ground and left hardly anything behind. However, no matter where you go the common dandelion grows quite well. It has been said, and I am not sure if this is true or not, that this tiny seed was brought here, like the tumble weed, from foreign soil and spread across the country and world by settlers. And it grows anywhere it is planted, kind of like the gospel seed. That is if someone like you who is a follower farmer for the Lord scatters it everywhere you go.
I love gardening but I hate to weed. I believe that's why God created the gas-powered weed whacker! With a few deft strokes and lots of monofilament line you can pulverize any weed that dares grow in your flower beds. For the really tough and woody ones you can attach a mini-saw blade! Of course you can also pulverize your flowers as well! Some plants are just pansies when it comes to growing. A funny fact though is the feral weedy cousin of the pansy, the Johnny Jump Up, that will grow just about anywhere! Watering, weeding, waiting - all of this is good horticulture. Here we find Jesus using parables for a purpose in teaching us about good horticulture. Here's what I mean: We discover that...
II. Seeds need the right conditions to grow strong!
1. Believers should know the basics of spiritual horticulture! You cannot always plant a seed and then walk away and expect it to grow. Sometimes, you may have to cultivate it, water it, and make sure it gets the right amount of sunshine! Or should I say, "SON-shine!" Anyway, Jesus knew that his follower farmers would need to become gardeners, mentors, and disciplers of his message. Caretakers of the kingdom of God need to spend time in the flower or vegetable beds they planted or they may dry up from legalism, burn from over exposure to heresy, or be watered-soaked through lackadaisical emergent behavior. I believe this is implied in Jesus saying that "some fell along the path...", "some fell on rocky places...", "other seed fell among thorns...", and " Still other seed fell on good soil!" Jesus wanted his follower farmers to also understand that the gospel seed needs the right conditions to grow strong! The Apostle Paul understood his part in planting and making sure the gospel seed had the right conditions when he wrote: "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor." (1 Corinthians 3:6-8 NIV) Paul knew that Christians are "God's fellow workers" and that we work for God in "God's field." (1 Corinthians 3:9) God knows that new seedlings need good gardeners to make sure that they "will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming." (Ephesians 4:11-14 NIV) Jesus knew this as well and used parables for a purpose to tacitly teach his follower farmers that newly planted seeds need the right conditions to grow strong! All follower farmers of the Lord should know the basics of good spiritual horticulture. Do you? Who are you mentoring?
EXAMPLE: Christians should understand that Jesus is "the true vine" and that God the Father "is the gardener," but his followers are the mentors. In fact it is God who "cuts off every branch in [Jesus] that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (John 15:1-2 NIV) That is spiritual horticulture at its best. But believers are to know the basics of spiritual horticulture as well. I know that if I want a lot of good apples without worms in them I must prune my tree and apply the right kind of insecticide and fertilizer. Sometimes, you have to get really aggressive with both pruning and spraying. Sure you can let a tree go wild and it will produce fruit, but it will be wormy and the tree will be in poor condition. The same holds true for God's people. They have to be discipled after the gospel seed is planted and takes root in their lives or they will be in spiritually poor condition and produce wormy ungodly fruit. Sadly, we find that in many churches today, but the spiritual truth Jesus taught still holds true today: Seeds need the right conditions to grow strong! Believers should know the basics of spiritual horticulture.
Conclusion:
Next week we will learn that the disciples come and ask Jesus privately about the parables and why he taught using them so often. The crowds did not truly understand Jesus and we learned in the last several weeks that they only wanted what they could get out of Jesus. Here we find that Jesus used parables for a purpose. He often taught several spiritual truths at once by doing so. This morning we discovered that 1) Seeds need someone to plant them everywhere they go, and that 2) Seeds need the right conditions to grow strong!
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my written permission.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
When Family or Man Does Not Understand - Mark 3:20-35
When Family or Man Does Not Understand - Mark 3:20-35
By Pastor Lee Hemen
October 25, 2009 AM
During a Youth Camp I was directing one young teenage girl was deliberately creating personal drama all around her. Because of her self-centeredness and total self-absorption in boys, she was keeping the whole camp in turmoil. Of course, being the Camp Director, I had to be the one to confront her. At first she got really angry and tried yelling at me that I “just did not understand her and what she was going through.” So, I patiently asked her to explain it to me. As she got into her lengthy dissertation on why she was being a pill, she realized how totally selfish she was and how the whole camp had begun to not want to be around her. All of a sudden she went kind of pale, began to cry, and apologized.
We have all seen in situation comedies, or have experienced for ourselves, a pouting child that storms off into the next room while shouting to their bewildered parents, “You just do not understand me! NO one UNDERSTANDS ME!” The age old conflict of parents not understanding their children is nothing new. What can be just as difficult is when we think that the world does not understand us either. Surprisingly, we find these “misunderstandings” in the life of Jesus as well. Jesus’ ministry and his fame were beginning to grow. As it did, his teachings and his life began to threaten the powers that be and perhaps embarrass his family. Not only does his mother and siblings begin thinking he has lost all sense of reality, but those who considered themselves the teachers of all things regarding God also view Jesus as blasphemous. Why? Because Jesus was misunderstood. Let’s find out what happens, shall we?
READ: Mark 3:20-35
Last week we talked about the crowds that formed around Jesus and again we find another crowd forming. In fact, so much so “that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.” In this crowd were those who deliberately misunderstood Jesus’ ministry. In how he responds to their pettiness we discover…
I. How to respond when the world does not understand our faith!
1. Use the truth to confront and confound your accusers! Proverbs reminds us that “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1), and sometimes you have to confront your attackers head on as Jesus does here in Mark. Notice, however, how he does this. The “teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem” were deliberately confrontational. They immediately accuse Jesus of being “possessed by Beelzebub!” (The spelling “Beelzebub” comes from the Latin Vulgate which derived it from the Hebrew “Baalzebub” meaning “Lord of the flies,” an ancient Canaanite deity.) So they are bluntly stating that Jesus is possessed “By the prince of demons” and that he was “driving out demons” using by his own supposed Satanic power! Can you imagine? Now some misguided souls in the 21st century may struggle with the concept of Satan and demons, but Jesus, God’s Son, knew them to be very real. He therefore meets their accusation head on and asks, “How can Satan drive out Satan?” The answer of course is that he could not and the reason is obvious: “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” Or “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” And so, “if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; [therefore] his end has come.” If Jesus were Satanic, then by driving out demons, Satan’s kingdom is divided from within and it has already fallen! Well duh! Then Jesus does an interesting thing, he focuses on who he truly is. He does this by telling them that “In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house.” Jesus has entered the “strong man’s house,” Satan’s realm, and literally seized or plundered his household! Jesus had come and taken those whom Satan had captured right out of his own household! Mark relates that “He said this because they were saying, ‘He has an evil spirit.’” When those in the world did not understand who he was, Jesus met them head on with the truth. And so should all believers. This is how to respond when the world does not understand your faith.
EXAMPLE: Often when people first become Christians, their faith is questioned by those they work with, go to school with, or they consider as friends. Are you in a situation where you are misunderstood for your faith in Christ? Are you surrounded by co-workers, fellow classmates, or friends with a critical spirit concerning your faith? Do you get little or no credit for the work you do and then those around you criticize your Christianity? What would be the proper response for the believer? Jesus often responded in a gentle and humble way, but there were also times when he was willing to take a very definite head on stand. The proper response of course is to die to self as Jesus did throughout His life. However, while he was willing to die to self daily he was also quite willing to meet head on any question about his ministry, his sovereignty, or the grace of God. Jesus was willing to be misunderstood and maligned, to give up home and comforts, to take the role of a servant, and he was willing to meet head on anyone with the truth who would question his ministry. We must be willing to die in that way as well. We should use the truth to confront and confound our accusers.
We often can handle it when those in the world do not understand our walk in Christ, but we can really struggle when it is those we are closest to that misunderstand our faith. Should not those who claim to love us most, support us in our faith the most? You would think so and it can be difficult when they do not. We can then take it personally, but we should not do so. In fact, Jesus’ own family misunderstood his ministry and how he responds teaches us…
II. How to respond when our family does not understand our faith!
1. We should let our faith and honesty display what we truly believe! Jesus’ own family should have understood who he was from the very first, especially his mother! Wasn’t she surprised at the angel’s announcement and her own pregnancy? Didn’t she praise God for using her as an instrument of his will? Wasn’t it her home where the Wisemen came to worship the boy Jesus? Didn’t she “ponder” all these miraculous things surrounding Jesus? Yet even in the best of families we can find misunderstanding. Mark tells us that “When [Jesus’] family heard about” the crowds and his ministry, “they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’” The Greek expression is that of family members and not “friends” like is translated in the KJV. And this holds to be true because we discover that when “Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him” out so they could speak with Jesus directly. Remember Jesus knew that “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” If his own family could not understand his ministry, it would be a tough road for him to travel. It was at this time that the “crowd was sitting around him… told him, ‘Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.’” Jesus then rhetorically asks those around him, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” Jesus’ question was not being disrespectful of his family, but rather he was illustrating the deeper issue of a person’s relationship to him. That’s what Jesus always did throughout his ministry, he pointed people to their relationship with God. He never took people’s misunderstanding as a personal slight, instead he would invite them into the family of God. Mark relates that Jesus “looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers!’” Jesus responds with the gospel truth that “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Anyone becomes part of God’s family when they place their faith in his Son. As John would state, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13) When his family did not understand, Jesus responded with faith and honesty to display what he believed. We should do the same.
EXAMPLE: One of the hardest things a new Christian can do is to share their faith with their own family members. Often it is because we fear what they already know everything about us. Every embarrassing detail. All of our dirty little secrets. The way we were before the Lord came into our lives. The only thing that can quell our fears is to share our faith the same way Jesus did. I still remember how tough it was for me to share with my own family and how difficult it still is to share with those whom I love the most that know me the best. However, when Jesus’ family did not understand, he responded with faith and honesty to display what he believed. We should do the same.
Conclusion:
We learned today two important truths when we are misunderstood for our faith: We learned 1) How to respond when the world does not understand our faith, and 2) How to respond when our family does not understand our faith! What about you, how will you respond from now on?
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my written permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
October 25, 2009 AM
During a Youth Camp I was directing one young teenage girl was deliberately creating personal drama all around her. Because of her self-centeredness and total self-absorption in boys, she was keeping the whole camp in turmoil. Of course, being the Camp Director, I had to be the one to confront her. At first she got really angry and tried yelling at me that I “just did not understand her and what she was going through.” So, I patiently asked her to explain it to me. As she got into her lengthy dissertation on why she was being a pill, she realized how totally selfish she was and how the whole camp had begun to not want to be around her. All of a sudden she went kind of pale, began to cry, and apologized.
We have all seen in situation comedies, or have experienced for ourselves, a pouting child that storms off into the next room while shouting to their bewildered parents, “You just do not understand me! NO one UNDERSTANDS ME!” The age old conflict of parents not understanding their children is nothing new. What can be just as difficult is when we think that the world does not understand us either. Surprisingly, we find these “misunderstandings” in the life of Jesus as well. Jesus’ ministry and his fame were beginning to grow. As it did, his teachings and his life began to threaten the powers that be and perhaps embarrass his family. Not only does his mother and siblings begin thinking he has lost all sense of reality, but those who considered themselves the teachers of all things regarding God also view Jesus as blasphemous. Why? Because Jesus was misunderstood. Let’s find out what happens, shall we?
READ: Mark 3:20-35
Last week we talked about the crowds that formed around Jesus and again we find another crowd forming. In fact, so much so “that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.” In this crowd were those who deliberately misunderstood Jesus’ ministry. In how he responds to their pettiness we discover…
I. How to respond when the world does not understand our faith!
1. Use the truth to confront and confound your accusers! Proverbs reminds us that “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1), and sometimes you have to confront your attackers head on as Jesus does here in Mark. Notice, however, how he does this. The “teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem” were deliberately confrontational. They immediately accuse Jesus of being “possessed by Beelzebub!” (The spelling “Beelzebub” comes from the Latin Vulgate which derived it from the Hebrew “Baalzebub” meaning “Lord of the flies,” an ancient Canaanite deity.) So they are bluntly stating that Jesus is possessed “By the prince of demons” and that he was “driving out demons” using by his own supposed Satanic power! Can you imagine? Now some misguided souls in the 21st century may struggle with the concept of Satan and demons, but Jesus, God’s Son, knew them to be very real. He therefore meets their accusation head on and asks, “How can Satan drive out Satan?” The answer of course is that he could not and the reason is obvious: “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” Or “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” And so, “if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; [therefore] his end has come.” If Jesus were Satanic, then by driving out demons, Satan’s kingdom is divided from within and it has already fallen! Well duh! Then Jesus does an interesting thing, he focuses on who he truly is. He does this by telling them that “In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house.” Jesus has entered the “strong man’s house,” Satan’s realm, and literally seized or plundered his household! Jesus had come and taken those whom Satan had captured right out of his own household! Mark relates that “He said this because they were saying, ‘He has an evil spirit.’” When those in the world did not understand who he was, Jesus met them head on with the truth. And so should all believers. This is how to respond when the world does not understand your faith.
EXAMPLE: Often when people first become Christians, their faith is questioned by those they work with, go to school with, or they consider as friends. Are you in a situation where you are misunderstood for your faith in Christ? Are you surrounded by co-workers, fellow classmates, or friends with a critical spirit concerning your faith? Do you get little or no credit for the work you do and then those around you criticize your Christianity? What would be the proper response for the believer? Jesus often responded in a gentle and humble way, but there were also times when he was willing to take a very definite head on stand. The proper response of course is to die to self as Jesus did throughout His life. However, while he was willing to die to self daily he was also quite willing to meet head on any question about his ministry, his sovereignty, or the grace of God. Jesus was willing to be misunderstood and maligned, to give up home and comforts, to take the role of a servant, and he was willing to meet head on anyone with the truth who would question his ministry. We must be willing to die in that way as well. We should use the truth to confront and confound our accusers.
We often can handle it when those in the world do not understand our walk in Christ, but we can really struggle when it is those we are closest to that misunderstand our faith. Should not those who claim to love us most, support us in our faith the most? You would think so and it can be difficult when they do not. We can then take it personally, but we should not do so. In fact, Jesus’ own family misunderstood his ministry and how he responds teaches us…
II. How to respond when our family does not understand our faith!
1. We should let our faith and honesty display what we truly believe! Jesus’ own family should have understood who he was from the very first, especially his mother! Wasn’t she surprised at the angel’s announcement and her own pregnancy? Didn’t she praise God for using her as an instrument of his will? Wasn’t it her home where the Wisemen came to worship the boy Jesus? Didn’t she “ponder” all these miraculous things surrounding Jesus? Yet even in the best of families we can find misunderstanding. Mark tells us that “When [Jesus’] family heard about” the crowds and his ministry, “they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’” The Greek expression is that of family members and not “friends” like is translated in the KJV. And this holds to be true because we discover that when “Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him” out so they could speak with Jesus directly. Remember Jesus knew that “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” If his own family could not understand his ministry, it would be a tough road for him to travel. It was at this time that the “crowd was sitting around him… told him, ‘Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.’” Jesus then rhetorically asks those around him, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” Jesus’ question was not being disrespectful of his family, but rather he was illustrating the deeper issue of a person’s relationship to him. That’s what Jesus always did throughout his ministry, he pointed people to their relationship with God. He never took people’s misunderstanding as a personal slight, instead he would invite them into the family of God. Mark relates that Jesus “looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers!’” Jesus responds with the gospel truth that “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Anyone becomes part of God’s family when they place their faith in his Son. As John would state, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13) When his family did not understand, Jesus responded with faith and honesty to display what he believed. We should do the same.
EXAMPLE: One of the hardest things a new Christian can do is to share their faith with their own family members. Often it is because we fear what they already know everything about us. Every embarrassing detail. All of our dirty little secrets. The way we were before the Lord came into our lives. The only thing that can quell our fears is to share our faith the same way Jesus did. I still remember how tough it was for me to share with my own family and how difficult it still is to share with those whom I love the most that know me the best. However, when Jesus’ family did not understand, he responded with faith and honesty to display what he believed. We should do the same.
Conclusion:
We learned today two important truths when we are misunderstood for our faith: We learned 1) How to respond when the world does not understand our faith, and 2) How to respond when our family does not understand our faith! What about you, how will you respond from now on?
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my written permission.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
The Gathering Crowds -- Mark 3:7-19
The Gathering Crowds -- Mark 3:7-19
By Pastor Lee Hemen
October 18, 2009 AM
Crowds and their dynamics are very interesting and have been studied by sociologists and pubic bystanders for centuries. Crowds can be mobs, crowds can be audiences, crowds can be steered and directed, or they can become mindless and panicked. And they can form for a myriad of reasons, everything from the looky-loos of a horrible accident to the gathered listeners of a vibrant speaker or musician. In fact, gathering crowds can become like storm clouds that gather on the horizon. They can become threatening and uncontrollable. I was a witness to such crowd dynamics in Vancouver BC during a Christian conference put on by the late speaker John Wimber. A convert to Quakerism, who was the Founding Director of the Department of Church Growth at the Charles E. Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church Growth, that has spawned much of the emergent church theology of today. He also was a founding member of the music group, The Righteous Brothers and he began the neo-Pentecostal Vineyard movement. It was amazing to watch him hype up the crowd and then to direct them to do whatever he wanted. Including falling on the floor whimpering mindless drivel.
We find gathering crowds during Jesus’ ministry. We also discover that he discourages it because of the “sheep factor” which involves getting large groups to respond the way a speaker desires. We find the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin doing this during Jesus’ trail. We see it on film footage taken of Hitler’s mass rallies or on TV today from the raggedy crowds that gather and chant mindless slogans that always begin with the intellectually pithy: “Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho!” As we look closely at Jesus’ ministry here in Mark’s gospel we discover an interesting thing occurring. We actually get to see how Jesus related to the gathering crowds. Let’s discover this morning what Jesus did and why…
READ: Mark 3:7-19
This begins the second major part of Mark’s gospel. Here we find Jesus’ ministry again by the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd forms in order to hear and see Jesus. Perhaps they came just to see the show that may or may not occur? Crowds often do just that. However, there can be a danger in crowds that form for these reasons. They can quickly turn ugly and unruly. Here…
I. We discover that there can be uncontrollable crowds! (Vv. 7-10)
1. Uncontrollable crowds come only for what they can get out of the spectacle, the show, or the day’s entertainment. Offer free samples and people will show up, give away free services and people will beat down your door, or give the folks a free show and they will come in droves. Modern day marketing schemes know that these kinds of things attract crowds. Many a mega church movement has been marketed by this means. The people of Jesus’ day were no different. The crowd was attracted by what they could get out of Jesus. Mark infers that because of who Jesus was and what he had been doing he “withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed.” They wanted more from Jesus and all he wanted was to withdraw for a period of time, perhaps to reflect and relax, to be spiritually renewed. However, we find that “When they”, the crowd, “heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.” A multitude shows up! And, “Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him,” just in case, “to keep the people from crowding him.” Jesus knew crowds often want more than a person can sometimes give. Mobs only care for themselves. Medical care was almost non-existent then and what was available was often useless. A mild cold or even a minor scratch could often kill you. If someone suffered from a life debilitating disease, people often placed their faith in superstitious cures or bogus faith healers. Therefore, if someone showed up offering a cure or hope, the pressure to see him or to touch him would be great. In fact, Mark tells us that Jesus “had healed many,” and the crowd had gathered, “so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.” The mob could get ugly fast. Jesus could heal and the crowds came to be healed! We discover that there can be uncontrollable crowds!
EXAMPLE: We have seen uncontrollable crowds during rock concerts, soccer matches, or during rallies and marches. When people are deliberately riled up as a group there can take place a mob mentality whereby normal inhibitions are done away with and the mob mentality can take over. It is found in the ungodly behavior of drunken mobs during Spring break at the beach. It can also take place during political rallies or religious crusades. When we participated as a church during the last Billy Graham Crusade they warned of folks coming down because everyone else came down to the front. They therefore trained us to ask specific questions in order to try and sort out those who came forward and why they did. An uncontrollable mob mentality can take hold even during a time of responding to the gospel. I have seen this occur during youth camps or youth conventions. Young people will respond because their friends responded, or because they want to be part of what everyone else was part of, or they get excited about what is happening. During our last NW Baptist Youth Convention I counseled a dozen young people who came down, and only two knew why they had. The others got up and came forward because “everyone else was.” Here, in Mark, we discover that there can be uncontrollable crowds, even for the right reasons.
Jesus knew that crowds can become uncontrollable, but he also knew that God is not the author of confusion. He never works that way. God is not some big game show host in the sky wanting you to try and guess the right answer for your life. That is why He has supplied the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide those who trust Jesus with their lives. However there is one source of confusion that just loves to use the crowd mentality: Satan loves to use crowds as well. He loves to confuse and muck things up. But God has supplied an answer in those whom he calls into service for his kingdom. Therefore…
II. We discover that there can be handpicked crowds for a reason! (Vv. 11-19)
1. God uses those he chooses to establish his kingdom here on earth. Notice that Satan does not rest in stirring up trouble the lives of mankind. He is continually attacking and denouncing God in the lives of believers and slandering God’s people before the throne of God. In fact, we discover that the demons of darkness had caused such havoc in Jesus’ day that many of the ailments that befell folks were caused by their corruption. In the crowds were demoniacs, people whose speech and behavior were dominated by evil spirits and ungodly living. They recognized Jesus’ true status as the “Son of God” and were greatly threatened by His presence. Jesus did not accept their repeated cries of recognition, “But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was.” This could bring up a couple of interesting questions: 1) Can crowds be more susceptible to demonic influence simply because of their very nature? And, 2) can individuals be easily swayed by Satanic influence by being part of a large uncontrollable crowd? Perhaps both are true. We find it is true historically from the mob mentality of the Salem Witch Trials to the French Revolution or Hitler’s rise to power. Notice however what Jesus does to thwart this spiritual threat. Jesus, instead of heading to the beach, “went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.” The crowds of the day needed to be directed or guided, one-on-one, by those who follow the Lord. So, Jesus “called” and “appointed twelve—designating them apostles.” Notice the three areas they were to work: 1) “that they might be with him” and 2) “that he might send them out to preach” and 3) “to have authority to drive out demons.” Where the Spirit of the Lord is, Satan and his minions have no authority. Interestingly, we learn that “nearly all major ancient Greek manuscripts and most early versions omit the phrase, ‘designating them apostles.’” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary) However, Jesus appoints 12 men. Some who would question his ministry, some who would abandon him, and one who would betray him, but Jesus personally handpicked everyone of them for a specific purpose! We discover that there can be handpicked crowds for a reason!
EXAMPLE: Jesus would spend the next three years training these twelve men. Not all would learn the lessons he would give them. And we wonder why folks in our day and age sometimes cannot learn to follow Jesus correctly! If Jesus could not sway and train all of his followers, we will also struggle in this area as well. However, Jesus shows us that just as he handpicked certain men and called them to himself, we too are to make sure those who come to him are guided and discipled. Jesus has called us to call others and to train them up to be his disciples. We discover that there can be handpicked crowds for a reason! This is where many of today’s mega movements fail. While the masses come through the door, not all come for salvation, those who are saved can be quickly lost in the shuffle of the crowd and are never discipled properly and live a weak anemic faith. Add to this mixture the fact that many churches do not place an emphasis on Sunday School or Bible Study and you have a concoction for spiritual failure that does more harm than good for the kingdom of God. This is why we have fewer and fewer people witnessing or standing for the Lord in our day and age. Jesus called his disciples for a purpose because out of them would come the future church, his body in the world, that was to reach the world with his gospel message. We discover that there can be handpicked crowds for a reason.
Conclusion:
We have learned two important things form this section of Mark: 1) There can be uncontrollable crowds, and 2) there can be handpicked crowds that Jesus chooses. Which crowd are you part of this morning?
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my written permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
October 18, 2009 AM
Crowds and their dynamics are very interesting and have been studied by sociologists and pubic bystanders for centuries. Crowds can be mobs, crowds can be audiences, crowds can be steered and directed, or they can become mindless and panicked. And they can form for a myriad of reasons, everything from the looky-loos of a horrible accident to the gathered listeners of a vibrant speaker or musician. In fact, gathering crowds can become like storm clouds that gather on the horizon. They can become threatening and uncontrollable. I was a witness to such crowd dynamics in Vancouver BC during a Christian conference put on by the late speaker John Wimber. A convert to Quakerism, who was the Founding Director of the Department of Church Growth at the Charles E. Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church Growth, that has spawned much of the emergent church theology of today. He also was a founding member of the music group, The Righteous Brothers and he began the neo-Pentecostal Vineyard movement. It was amazing to watch him hype up the crowd and then to direct them to do whatever he wanted. Including falling on the floor whimpering mindless drivel.
We find gathering crowds during Jesus’ ministry. We also discover that he discourages it because of the “sheep factor” which involves getting large groups to respond the way a speaker desires. We find the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin doing this during Jesus’ trail. We see it on film footage taken of Hitler’s mass rallies or on TV today from the raggedy crowds that gather and chant mindless slogans that always begin with the intellectually pithy: “Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho!” As we look closely at Jesus’ ministry here in Mark’s gospel we discover an interesting thing occurring. We actually get to see how Jesus related to the gathering crowds. Let’s discover this morning what Jesus did and why…
READ: Mark 3:7-19
This begins the second major part of Mark’s gospel. Here we find Jesus’ ministry again by the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd forms in order to hear and see Jesus. Perhaps they came just to see the show that may or may not occur? Crowds often do just that. However, there can be a danger in crowds that form for these reasons. They can quickly turn ugly and unruly. Here…
I. We discover that there can be uncontrollable crowds! (Vv. 7-10)
1. Uncontrollable crowds come only for what they can get out of the spectacle, the show, or the day’s entertainment. Offer free samples and people will show up, give away free services and people will beat down your door, or give the folks a free show and they will come in droves. Modern day marketing schemes know that these kinds of things attract crowds. Many a mega church movement has been marketed by this means. The people of Jesus’ day were no different. The crowd was attracted by what they could get out of Jesus. Mark infers that because of who Jesus was and what he had been doing he “withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed.” They wanted more from Jesus and all he wanted was to withdraw for a period of time, perhaps to reflect and relax, to be spiritually renewed. However, we find that “When they”, the crowd, “heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.” A multitude shows up! And, “Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him,” just in case, “to keep the people from crowding him.” Jesus knew crowds often want more than a person can sometimes give. Mobs only care for themselves. Medical care was almost non-existent then and what was available was often useless. A mild cold or even a minor scratch could often kill you. If someone suffered from a life debilitating disease, people often placed their faith in superstitious cures or bogus faith healers. Therefore, if someone showed up offering a cure or hope, the pressure to see him or to touch him would be great. In fact, Mark tells us that Jesus “had healed many,” and the crowd had gathered, “so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.” The mob could get ugly fast. Jesus could heal and the crowds came to be healed! We discover that there can be uncontrollable crowds!
EXAMPLE: We have seen uncontrollable crowds during rock concerts, soccer matches, or during rallies and marches. When people are deliberately riled up as a group there can take place a mob mentality whereby normal inhibitions are done away with and the mob mentality can take over. It is found in the ungodly behavior of drunken mobs during Spring break at the beach. It can also take place during political rallies or religious crusades. When we participated as a church during the last Billy Graham Crusade they warned of folks coming down because everyone else came down to the front. They therefore trained us to ask specific questions in order to try and sort out those who came forward and why they did. An uncontrollable mob mentality can take hold even during a time of responding to the gospel. I have seen this occur during youth camps or youth conventions. Young people will respond because their friends responded, or because they want to be part of what everyone else was part of, or they get excited about what is happening. During our last NW Baptist Youth Convention I counseled a dozen young people who came down, and only two knew why they had. The others got up and came forward because “everyone else was.” Here, in Mark, we discover that there can be uncontrollable crowds, even for the right reasons.
Jesus knew that crowds can become uncontrollable, but he also knew that God is not the author of confusion. He never works that way. God is not some big game show host in the sky wanting you to try and guess the right answer for your life. That is why He has supplied the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide those who trust Jesus with their lives. However there is one source of confusion that just loves to use the crowd mentality: Satan loves to use crowds as well. He loves to confuse and muck things up. But God has supplied an answer in those whom he calls into service for his kingdom. Therefore…
II. We discover that there can be handpicked crowds for a reason! (Vv. 11-19)
1. God uses those he chooses to establish his kingdom here on earth. Notice that Satan does not rest in stirring up trouble the lives of mankind. He is continually attacking and denouncing God in the lives of believers and slandering God’s people before the throne of God. In fact, we discover that the demons of darkness had caused such havoc in Jesus’ day that many of the ailments that befell folks were caused by their corruption. In the crowds were demoniacs, people whose speech and behavior were dominated by evil spirits and ungodly living. They recognized Jesus’ true status as the “Son of God” and were greatly threatened by His presence. Jesus did not accept their repeated cries of recognition, “But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was.” This could bring up a couple of interesting questions: 1) Can crowds be more susceptible to demonic influence simply because of their very nature? And, 2) can individuals be easily swayed by Satanic influence by being part of a large uncontrollable crowd? Perhaps both are true. We find it is true historically from the mob mentality of the Salem Witch Trials to the French Revolution or Hitler’s rise to power. Notice however what Jesus does to thwart this spiritual threat. Jesus, instead of heading to the beach, “went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.” The crowds of the day needed to be directed or guided, one-on-one, by those who follow the Lord. So, Jesus “called” and “appointed twelve—designating them apostles.” Notice the three areas they were to work: 1) “that they might be with him” and 2) “that he might send them out to preach” and 3) “to have authority to drive out demons.” Where the Spirit of the Lord is, Satan and his minions have no authority. Interestingly, we learn that “nearly all major ancient Greek manuscripts and most early versions omit the phrase, ‘designating them apostles.’” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary) However, Jesus appoints 12 men. Some who would question his ministry, some who would abandon him, and one who would betray him, but Jesus personally handpicked everyone of them for a specific purpose! We discover that there can be handpicked crowds for a reason!
EXAMPLE: Jesus would spend the next three years training these twelve men. Not all would learn the lessons he would give them. And we wonder why folks in our day and age sometimes cannot learn to follow Jesus correctly! If Jesus could not sway and train all of his followers, we will also struggle in this area as well. However, Jesus shows us that just as he handpicked certain men and called them to himself, we too are to make sure those who come to him are guided and discipled. Jesus has called us to call others and to train them up to be his disciples. We discover that there can be handpicked crowds for a reason! This is where many of today’s mega movements fail. While the masses come through the door, not all come for salvation, those who are saved can be quickly lost in the shuffle of the crowd and are never discipled properly and live a weak anemic faith. Add to this mixture the fact that many churches do not place an emphasis on Sunday School or Bible Study and you have a concoction for spiritual failure that does more harm than good for the kingdom of God. This is why we have fewer and fewer people witnessing or standing for the Lord in our day and age. Jesus called his disciples for a purpose because out of them would come the future church, his body in the world, that was to reach the world with his gospel message. We discover that there can be handpicked crowds for a reason.
Conclusion:
We have learned two important things form this section of Mark: 1) There can be uncontrollable crowds, and 2) there can be handpicked crowds that Jesus chooses. Which crowd are you part of this morning?
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my written permission.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Shriveled Hand and Hearts – Mark 3:1-6
Shriveled Hand and Hearts – Mark 3:1-6
By Pastor Lee Hemen
October 11, 2009 AM
Have you ever met someone who suffers from a “shriveled” personality? I have. They have become mentally “shriveled” because they are so into themselves that they do not allow anyone or anything to affect their lives. Shriveled personalities can be displayed by those who are angry at the world because of some emotional or physical hurt; those who are emotionally or materially selfish and self-centered; those who only think they have the correct answers for everyone else; or by those who are so spiritually blinded they do not see their saintly shallowness. I knew a man who was so shriveled up inside, because he had lost his first wife to cancer, that he found very little emotional time or empathy for his second wife. And, of course, like many do who are emotionally shriveled up inside, he blamed God for his predicament. People can indeed have shriveled hearts.
Jesus saw this disease around him daily but one day he ministers to a man whose hand was physically shriveled. It was through no fault of his own that this man suffered from his deformity. His hand was probably malformed from birth although the text does not specifically say so. Sadly, there were those in Jesus’ day who actually thought that a physical condition like this was God’s judgment on either the man or his family or both! In trying to minister to this man’s physical abnormality Jesus was confronted by those who suffered from shriveled hearts. How did Jesus handle the situation and can we in our day suffer from shriveled hands and hearts? Let’s find out together…
READ: Mark 3:1-6
Bad things happen to good people just as good things happen to bad people. That is the way of the universe. When we get caught up in judging all of creation by what does or does not happen to us, we are walking on faulty ground. It is the same convoluted thinking that goes something like this: “God must not love me because this bad thing happened to me!” We would do well to remember that sin exists and everything in all of creation is tainted by its stain. From the sweetest newborn baby to the gnarled old walnut tree out by our parking lot. The Pharisees, here in these verses, and some of us this morning, suffer from this kind of odd theology. In fact…
I. We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking!
1. Faulty thinking about God leads to a false belief about Jesus! We find Jesus going to worship in a local synagogue. We often find Jesus headed off to “church,” because that’s what godly men do, they go to worship with other godly men. Jesus knew that it is in worship where we as his people find community, encouragement, and strength to be the men of God we are supposed to be. So, as a real man, Jesus is headed to worship, “and a man with a shriveled hand was there.” However, “Some of them” who were there at the local synagogue were there for the wrong reasons. Instead of worshiping God, as real men should, they “were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.” Now, isn’t that simply manly? Sadly, a lot of folks go to worship for the wrong reasons, even today! These men came in order to trap Jesus! Can you imagine doing this? They came with preconceived notions about who Jesus was and were only there in order to get the goods on Jesus in some way. Their whole thought process about God was completely wrong! God to them was a “law-giver” and not full of compassion. So, instead of coming to praise God and worship him for who he is and to see if Jesus was who he said he was, they came instead so they could watch “him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath!” How ungodly is that? A lot of men today have faulty thinking concerning God. Some think that Jesus is everybody’s buddy, kind of like He is the “good old boy” of heaven. Others think that God is some kind of genie in a bottle that grants wishes if you are on his good side, or that he will grant you something if he likes you enough. Then there are those who think that they can dictate how God can relate to them, as if they were in charge! Wow, kind of mind boggling isn’t it? And, we see the same thing occurring here with Jesus! We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking!
EXAMPLE: Many people get mad at God or deny his existence simply because at some time someone hurt them or they did not get from God what they expected in life. I’ve heard the excuses before, perhaps you have as well: “I used to go to church, but they did this to me!” “God never did anything for me, so why should I believe in him!” “If there really was a God why did he let so-and-so die?” “If God is a good God, why does he allow all this evil in the world?” People get these convoluted views of God because they begin to view God from their perspective of the world instead of from what is true about God. On the surface, these excuses may sound good to us, however, if we will step back and look at them from heaven’s perspective, they sound, well, kind of spiritually stupid. These Pharisees permitted healing on the Sabbath only if a person’s life was in danger. They had taken the commandments to remember the Sabbath day, not work on the Sabbath, and had adjusted and tweaked them to their own idea of what God should be like! You see, to their way of thinking this man’s problem was not life-threatening and could wait until tomorrow; so if Jesus healed him on the Sabbath, they could accuse Jesus of being a “Sabbath-violator!” An offense punishable by death! God, in Jesus, was standing right there in front of them but their hearts were so spiritually shriveled because of their own preconceived notions about God, they could not see him! We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking! How about you this morning? How do you view God?
The Apostle Paul, having come out of this kind of thinking in his own life, understood deeply the grace of God in our lives. He would reflect, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) He would go on to relate, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:15-16) And, in fact as Jesus ministers…
II. We discover that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands!
1. We are “shriveled” when we dismiss the love of God in our lives! I find it humorous that there are folks who actually think Jesus never got angry, nor used sarcasm to teach narrow-minded people the truth. Right here in these verse we see Jesus doing both! In fact, Jesus does an in-your-face kind of example to those who were “watching” his every move! “Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, ‘Stand up in front of everyone.’” (v. 3) Jesus was going to show these shriveled hearts how God could heal a shriveled hand, because God was the God of compassion and not the God of narrow-minded thinking. Jesus bluntly, and rather sarcastically, asks them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” Notice that “they remained silent.” Now they were caught in their convoluted thinking. Now they were exposed for who they were and what they actually believed about God! Now they had to face their stupid spirituality concerning God and their view of Jesus! Would they change? No. Why? They were blind legalists with shriveled hearts that wanted God placed in their own bottle to work the way they wanted him to work. This is why Jesus “looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.” These men were so hardened to the human misery around them, they were willing to justify their own ungodliness by trying to trap Jesus who was showing the compassion and mercy of God. Jesus’ look was penetrating, it was full of deep sorrow and indignation, at their shriveled spirituality. I believe that if these Pharisees had praised God instead of seeking to trap Jesus, he would have forgiven them as well. Jesus desired to. He desired his people, especially those who claimed spiritual leadership, to heal their shriveled hearts. He heals the man because he is willing but can do nothing with those who were blinded by their own ignorance. We discover that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands.
EXAMPLE: We find Jesus almost beside himself when later he is speaking to the people. He cries out, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” Literally: “You would have none of it!” (Matthew 23:37) Can you imagine? Here is the Savior of the world, who has come to show the Jewish people God in human flesh, to die for their sins, and to show the power of God through his resurrection, and they would not believe. Not even those who claimed spiritual authority would accept him. They had shriveled hearts. I remember speaking to a man about the love of God and he responded, “You have no idea what God has done to me.” So I asked him to explain. He related that he had cried out day and night to God for an answer to his predicament but got no answer. “Why?,” he asked, “Why would God do that?” I related that in the midst of our pain we often do not see God at work because we are so blinded by the hurt involved. As we spoke he admitted that even his children had found comfort in his wife’s faith but he had not. All he could see was the problem. He soon realized that his heart had become shriveled because of the hurt he experienced and that it had clouded his view of God. It was then he wept openly and confessed his sin and returned to the Lord. He confessed that he had wasted too many years to his hurt rather than seeking how God could have used him. I have always found that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands.
Conclusion:
Now, what about you? Is a physical or spiritual deformity keeping you from coming to faith in Christ? We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking! We discover that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands! He is willing that you be healed today. Will you?
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my written permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
October 11, 2009 AM
Have you ever met someone who suffers from a “shriveled” personality? I have. They have become mentally “shriveled” because they are so into themselves that they do not allow anyone or anything to affect their lives. Shriveled personalities can be displayed by those who are angry at the world because of some emotional or physical hurt; those who are emotionally or materially selfish and self-centered; those who only think they have the correct answers for everyone else; or by those who are so spiritually blinded they do not see their saintly shallowness. I knew a man who was so shriveled up inside, because he had lost his first wife to cancer, that he found very little emotional time or empathy for his second wife. And, of course, like many do who are emotionally shriveled up inside, he blamed God for his predicament. People can indeed have shriveled hearts.
Jesus saw this disease around him daily but one day he ministers to a man whose hand was physically shriveled. It was through no fault of his own that this man suffered from his deformity. His hand was probably malformed from birth although the text does not specifically say so. Sadly, there were those in Jesus’ day who actually thought that a physical condition like this was God’s judgment on either the man or his family or both! In trying to minister to this man’s physical abnormality Jesus was confronted by those who suffered from shriveled hearts. How did Jesus handle the situation and can we in our day suffer from shriveled hands and hearts? Let’s find out together…
READ: Mark 3:1-6
Bad things happen to good people just as good things happen to bad people. That is the way of the universe. When we get caught up in judging all of creation by what does or does not happen to us, we are walking on faulty ground. It is the same convoluted thinking that goes something like this: “God must not love me because this bad thing happened to me!” We would do well to remember that sin exists and everything in all of creation is tainted by its stain. From the sweetest newborn baby to the gnarled old walnut tree out by our parking lot. The Pharisees, here in these verses, and some of us this morning, suffer from this kind of odd theology. In fact…
I. We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking!
1. Faulty thinking about God leads to a false belief about Jesus! We find Jesus going to worship in a local synagogue. We often find Jesus headed off to “church,” because that’s what godly men do, they go to worship with other godly men. Jesus knew that it is in worship where we as his people find community, encouragement, and strength to be the men of God we are supposed to be. So, as a real man, Jesus is headed to worship, “and a man with a shriveled hand was there.” However, “Some of them” who were there at the local synagogue were there for the wrong reasons. Instead of worshiping God, as real men should, they “were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.” Now, isn’t that simply manly? Sadly, a lot of folks go to worship for the wrong reasons, even today! These men came in order to trap Jesus! Can you imagine doing this? They came with preconceived notions about who Jesus was and were only there in order to get the goods on Jesus in some way. Their whole thought process about God was completely wrong! God to them was a “law-giver” and not full of compassion. So, instead of coming to praise God and worship him for who he is and to see if Jesus was who he said he was, they came instead so they could watch “him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath!” How ungodly is that? A lot of men today have faulty thinking concerning God. Some think that Jesus is everybody’s buddy, kind of like He is the “good old boy” of heaven. Others think that God is some kind of genie in a bottle that grants wishes if you are on his good side, or that he will grant you something if he likes you enough. Then there are those who think that they can dictate how God can relate to them, as if they were in charge! Wow, kind of mind boggling isn’t it? And, we see the same thing occurring here with Jesus! We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking!
EXAMPLE: Many people get mad at God or deny his existence simply because at some time someone hurt them or they did not get from God what they expected in life. I’ve heard the excuses before, perhaps you have as well: “I used to go to church, but they did this to me!” “God never did anything for me, so why should I believe in him!” “If there really was a God why did he let so-and-so die?” “If God is a good God, why does he allow all this evil in the world?” People get these convoluted views of God because they begin to view God from their perspective of the world instead of from what is true about God. On the surface, these excuses may sound good to us, however, if we will step back and look at them from heaven’s perspective, they sound, well, kind of spiritually stupid. These Pharisees permitted healing on the Sabbath only if a person’s life was in danger. They had taken the commandments to remember the Sabbath day, not work on the Sabbath, and had adjusted and tweaked them to their own idea of what God should be like! You see, to their way of thinking this man’s problem was not life-threatening and could wait until tomorrow; so if Jesus healed him on the Sabbath, they could accuse Jesus of being a “Sabbath-violator!” An offense punishable by death! God, in Jesus, was standing right there in front of them but their hearts were so spiritually shriveled because of their own preconceived notions about God, they could not see him! We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking! How about you this morning? How do you view God?
The Apostle Paul, having come out of this kind of thinking in his own life, understood deeply the grace of God in our lives. He would reflect, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) He would go on to relate, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:15-16) And, in fact as Jesus ministers…
II. We discover that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands!
1. We are “shriveled” when we dismiss the love of God in our lives! I find it humorous that there are folks who actually think Jesus never got angry, nor used sarcasm to teach narrow-minded people the truth. Right here in these verse we see Jesus doing both! In fact, Jesus does an in-your-face kind of example to those who were “watching” his every move! “Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, ‘Stand up in front of everyone.’” (v. 3) Jesus was going to show these shriveled hearts how God could heal a shriveled hand, because God was the God of compassion and not the God of narrow-minded thinking. Jesus bluntly, and rather sarcastically, asks them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” Notice that “they remained silent.” Now they were caught in their convoluted thinking. Now they were exposed for who they were and what they actually believed about God! Now they had to face their stupid spirituality concerning God and their view of Jesus! Would they change? No. Why? They were blind legalists with shriveled hearts that wanted God placed in their own bottle to work the way they wanted him to work. This is why Jesus “looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.” These men were so hardened to the human misery around them, they were willing to justify their own ungodliness by trying to trap Jesus who was showing the compassion and mercy of God. Jesus’ look was penetrating, it was full of deep sorrow and indignation, at their shriveled spirituality. I believe that if these Pharisees had praised God instead of seeking to trap Jesus, he would have forgiven them as well. Jesus desired to. He desired his people, especially those who claimed spiritual leadership, to heal their shriveled hearts. He heals the man because he is willing but can do nothing with those who were blinded by their own ignorance. We discover that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands.
EXAMPLE: We find Jesus almost beside himself when later he is speaking to the people. He cries out, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” Literally: “You would have none of it!” (Matthew 23:37) Can you imagine? Here is the Savior of the world, who has come to show the Jewish people God in human flesh, to die for their sins, and to show the power of God through his resurrection, and they would not believe. Not even those who claimed spiritual authority would accept him. They had shriveled hearts. I remember speaking to a man about the love of God and he responded, “You have no idea what God has done to me.” So I asked him to explain. He related that he had cried out day and night to God for an answer to his predicament but got no answer. “Why?,” he asked, “Why would God do that?” I related that in the midst of our pain we often do not see God at work because we are so blinded by the hurt involved. As we spoke he admitted that even his children had found comfort in his wife’s faith but he had not. All he could see was the problem. He soon realized that his heart had become shriveled because of the hurt he experienced and that it had clouded his view of God. It was then he wept openly and confessed his sin and returned to the Lord. He confessed that he had wasted too many years to his hurt rather than seeking how God could have used him. I have always found that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands.
Conclusion:
Now, what about you? Is a physical or spiritual deformity keeping you from coming to faith in Christ? We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking! We discover that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands! He is willing that you be healed today. Will you?
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my written permission.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Lord of the Sabbath – Mark 2:23-28
Lord of the Sabbath – Mark 2:23-28
By Pastor Lee Hemen
October 4, 2009 AM
I was in a discussion with one of our area’s ministry directors when he grandly announced that he did not agree with “organized religion.” I was stunned and immediately asked him, “Why then do we pay your salary?” He could not answer me. I then followed this by telling him, “If you have placed your faith in Christ, you are now part of an ‘organized religion’ that was prearranged by God Himself, centered on the foundation of the gospel message of salvation through His One and Only Son!” In being a Christian, you have submitted yourself to membership in the body of Christ.
There is a foolish discussion going on in some circles today about the importance of church membership in the life of the Christian. It has come about because of universalism creeping back into Christian theology from sources like the emergent church. It is not a new heresy. It is the notion that the church and thereby worship should center spirituality around the individual instead of the worship of God and the establishment of his kingdom through Jesus Christ. I find this blasphemous because this scheme focuses on the profane notion that church is not really important, only a relationship with Jesus is. Too many equate worship with being part of a church, and worse -- a relationship with Jesus! And while faith in Christ is primary, we are deliberately leaving out a whole lot of what Jesus taught about his church, what it meant to be a member, and the sanctity of the Sabbath when we dismiss it so carelessly. What then did Jesus mean when He related that he was “Lord of the Sabbath”? Let’s find out, shall we?
READ: Mark 2:23-28
Invariably someone will quote the verses we just read to justify their not joining a church or not being in worship regularly. As I stated before, it is heresy. Why would I say this? Because we as independent cusses do not like it when someone tells we should do something, especially when it concerns “our worship.” We have this flawed notion way in the back of our heads that has been implanted by someone at sometime that sooths our prideful spirit that says we do not need “organized religion,” and we lump our worship or church membership into that category. We are wrong if we do and we are just as wrong if we use today’s passage of Scripture to justify that notion. Let’s discover why Jesus said He was “Lord of the Sabbath.” First…
I. Let’s remind ourselves whom the Sabbath was made for!
1. The Sabbath is for God’s children! Jesus defended why his disciples’ actions. Why? It was a pretty pathetic breakfast Jesus’ followers had on that Sabbath: Just a few miserable grain heads that they rubbed the chaff off and then ate dry. (Yum!?) However, even this meager meal was begrudged them by the legalistic Pharisees: “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” they ask Jesus. Their concocted religious code could not condone labor on the Sabbath and what Jesus’ disciples were doing was considered by them as WORK! (They were picking and threshing grain!) Jesus immediately queries: “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” This story comes from 1 Samuel 21:1-9, where David flees for his life when he learns that King Saul is seeking to kill him. David knew that his men were starving and that God would not begrudge them the bread from his own altar to feed those he had created. The Apostle John would rejoice, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1) It’s true because John knew that “to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) Jesus instructs these Pharisees that the Sabbath, while a sacred institution, was “made for man.” God’s day of respite followed after man was made for our spiritual rest. It is to be a sacred day whereby God’s children come and worship Him. “Man” here means those whom God knows, not all mankind. Therefore, for the believer the Sabbath should not be a day whereby we excuse anything we do as honoring to God. It is to be a day of corporate spiritual rest. This is why Hebrews scolds Christians to “not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25) Yes, the Sabbath was made for man, but it was made for those who loved God to come and worship Him!
EXAMPLE: I can still remember my father telling me to “sit still” during the worship service. Being a little boy I got easily bored, but my father would have none of it. When I whined that the pews were hard, the service was WAY TOO LONG, and the priest BORING, he tersely informed me, “Lee, this is not about you. This is about worshipping God.” He was correct. We live in a day and age where we have misplaced the sacred, thinking that church and worship should revolve around us, our children, or that it is there to make us feel good about ourselves. We wait for the pastor to pump us up for another week and the music to ascend us to the throne of God, forgetting that the focus of our worship is not about us, but it is to be completely about Christ. When it is not, is it ungodly. God only inhabits the praise of his people as they have totally given themselves to him. Too many come to worship in order to be personally revived, when what they need is to be resurrected! This is why Jesus warned, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’”(Matthew 15:7-9) Certainly the Sabbath was made for us, but it was made for us to worship him and not ourselves.
The Bible teaches us that it was Jesus who made the Sabbath and we are to realize its importance for our spiritual health. In fact we need to get reacquainted with the old fashioned ideal that Sunday is the Lord’s day for the believer. We discover that believers began to meet early, on the “first day of the week”, to worship Jesus. (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Rev. 1:10) It honored his resurrection and reminded them of their new life in Christ. It also set them apart from the Jews and their legalism. Christians would do well to remember who established our day of worship. Therefore…
II. Let’s discover whom the Sabbath was made by!
1. God created the Sabbath! We learned that Jesus argued for His disciples because of what they needed, but also because of how God loved them. The Sabbath was important, but they were hungry. Was it therefore more important to follow a rather obscure manmade legalistic interpretation to not pick grain on the Sabbath or to feed one’s self? We know that “ritual observances must always give way to moral obligations.” We know this from Jesus relating about the Samaritan helping a man who was robbed and left for dead! (Luke 10:30-37) or to the legalist who came and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” and Jesus responded, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:16-22) Jesus told the Pharisaic Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 3:3) So we know that it is not through a legalistic adherence to a set of manmade laws that we are saved, but by faith in Jesus alone. As Paul would shout, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God!” (Ephesians 2:8) Jesus states that “the Son of Man is Lord of even of the Sabbath!” Jesus was therefore reminding these Pharisees about Who made the Sabbath! But we dare not use these examples to excuse our rather lackadaisical attitude concerning our church or our worship. Why? God’s church is sacred to him. He made for us a day of worship and bought the church with the price of his Son’s blood on a cruel cross. His church represents Jesus’ “body” in the world whereby Christians are to worship and serve him! This is why Paul would remind the Corinthians that “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:26-27) We would do well to remember that Jesus is the Lord of even the Sabbath and that it was God who made the Sabbath for his body the church!
EXAMPLE: We live in a country of Constitutional freedoms whereby we equate individual freedom in the same vein as spiritual freedom. We would do well to remember that they are not the same at all. Just because we live in a land where we can do almost anything we want whenever we want to, it does not justify our neglect of coming together as believers to worship the Lord our God. We are to come together as a church, the body of Christ, and worship Jesus. Christians should be in church on Sunday, our Sabbath, to worship God with other believers. Paul reminds us: “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16) Jesus created the Sabbath and He had a right to have his followers pick and eat grain. God did not begrudge his children eating what he has created on the day he created for them! However, that does not excuse us from doing whatever we desire on the day we should set aside for worship. Believers are to “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” (Exodus 20:8) not because of legalism, but because it honors and glorifies God and his Son Jesus whom created it for our benefit.
Conclusion:
Today we have learned two things about the Sabbath: 1) The Sabbath is for God’s children, and 2) God created the Sabbath. Now, how will you spend your coming Sundays? Waiting for God to “bless you” or worshipping him as you are supposed to?
---
This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission to use the entire article.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
October 4, 2009 AM
I was in a discussion with one of our area’s ministry directors when he grandly announced that he did not agree with “organized religion.” I was stunned and immediately asked him, “Why then do we pay your salary?” He could not answer me. I then followed this by telling him, “If you have placed your faith in Christ, you are now part of an ‘organized religion’ that was prearranged by God Himself, centered on the foundation of the gospel message of salvation through His One and Only Son!” In being a Christian, you have submitted yourself to membership in the body of Christ.
There is a foolish discussion going on in some circles today about the importance of church membership in the life of the Christian. It has come about because of universalism creeping back into Christian theology from sources like the emergent church. It is not a new heresy. It is the notion that the church and thereby worship should center spirituality around the individual instead of the worship of God and the establishment of his kingdom through Jesus Christ. I find this blasphemous because this scheme focuses on the profane notion that church is not really important, only a relationship with Jesus is. Too many equate worship with being part of a church, and worse -- a relationship with Jesus! And while faith in Christ is primary, we are deliberately leaving out a whole lot of what Jesus taught about his church, what it meant to be a member, and the sanctity of the Sabbath when we dismiss it so carelessly. What then did Jesus mean when He related that he was “Lord of the Sabbath”? Let’s find out, shall we?
READ: Mark 2:23-28
Invariably someone will quote the verses we just read to justify their not joining a church or not being in worship regularly. As I stated before, it is heresy. Why would I say this? Because we as independent cusses do not like it when someone tells we should do something, especially when it concerns “our worship.” We have this flawed notion way in the back of our heads that has been implanted by someone at sometime that sooths our prideful spirit that says we do not need “organized religion,” and we lump our worship or church membership into that category. We are wrong if we do and we are just as wrong if we use today’s passage of Scripture to justify that notion. Let’s discover why Jesus said He was “Lord of the Sabbath.” First…
I. Let’s remind ourselves whom the Sabbath was made for!
1. The Sabbath is for God’s children! Jesus defended why his disciples’ actions. Why? It was a pretty pathetic breakfast Jesus’ followers had on that Sabbath: Just a few miserable grain heads that they rubbed the chaff off and then ate dry. (Yum!?) However, even this meager meal was begrudged them by the legalistic Pharisees: “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” they ask Jesus. Their concocted religious code could not condone labor on the Sabbath and what Jesus’ disciples were doing was considered by them as WORK! (They were picking and threshing grain!) Jesus immediately queries: “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” This story comes from 1 Samuel 21:1-9, where David flees for his life when he learns that King Saul is seeking to kill him. David knew that his men were starving and that God would not begrudge them the bread from his own altar to feed those he had created. The Apostle John would rejoice, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1) It’s true because John knew that “to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) Jesus instructs these Pharisees that the Sabbath, while a sacred institution, was “made for man.” God’s day of respite followed after man was made for our spiritual rest. It is to be a sacred day whereby God’s children come and worship Him. “Man” here means those whom God knows, not all mankind. Therefore, for the believer the Sabbath should not be a day whereby we excuse anything we do as honoring to God. It is to be a day of corporate spiritual rest. This is why Hebrews scolds Christians to “not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25) Yes, the Sabbath was made for man, but it was made for those who loved God to come and worship Him!
EXAMPLE: I can still remember my father telling me to “sit still” during the worship service. Being a little boy I got easily bored, but my father would have none of it. When I whined that the pews were hard, the service was WAY TOO LONG, and the priest BORING, he tersely informed me, “Lee, this is not about you. This is about worshipping God.” He was correct. We live in a day and age where we have misplaced the sacred, thinking that church and worship should revolve around us, our children, or that it is there to make us feel good about ourselves. We wait for the pastor to pump us up for another week and the music to ascend us to the throne of God, forgetting that the focus of our worship is not about us, but it is to be completely about Christ. When it is not, is it ungodly. God only inhabits the praise of his people as they have totally given themselves to him. Too many come to worship in order to be personally revived, when what they need is to be resurrected! This is why Jesus warned, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’”(Matthew 15:7-9) Certainly the Sabbath was made for us, but it was made for us to worship him and not ourselves.
The Bible teaches us that it was Jesus who made the Sabbath and we are to realize its importance for our spiritual health. In fact we need to get reacquainted with the old fashioned ideal that Sunday is the Lord’s day for the believer. We discover that believers began to meet early, on the “first day of the week”, to worship Jesus. (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Rev. 1:10) It honored his resurrection and reminded them of their new life in Christ. It also set them apart from the Jews and their legalism. Christians would do well to remember who established our day of worship. Therefore…
II. Let’s discover whom the Sabbath was made by!
1. God created the Sabbath! We learned that Jesus argued for His disciples because of what they needed, but also because of how God loved them. The Sabbath was important, but they were hungry. Was it therefore more important to follow a rather obscure manmade legalistic interpretation to not pick grain on the Sabbath or to feed one’s self? We know that “ritual observances must always give way to moral obligations.” We know this from Jesus relating about the Samaritan helping a man who was robbed and left for dead! (Luke 10:30-37) or to the legalist who came and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” and Jesus responded, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:16-22) Jesus told the Pharisaic Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 3:3) So we know that it is not through a legalistic adherence to a set of manmade laws that we are saved, but by faith in Jesus alone. As Paul would shout, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God!” (Ephesians 2:8) Jesus states that “the Son of Man is Lord of even of the Sabbath!” Jesus was therefore reminding these Pharisees about Who made the Sabbath! But we dare not use these examples to excuse our rather lackadaisical attitude concerning our church or our worship. Why? God’s church is sacred to him. He made for us a day of worship and bought the church with the price of his Son’s blood on a cruel cross. His church represents Jesus’ “body” in the world whereby Christians are to worship and serve him! This is why Paul would remind the Corinthians that “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:26-27) We would do well to remember that Jesus is the Lord of even the Sabbath and that it was God who made the Sabbath for his body the church!
EXAMPLE: We live in a country of Constitutional freedoms whereby we equate individual freedom in the same vein as spiritual freedom. We would do well to remember that they are not the same at all. Just because we live in a land where we can do almost anything we want whenever we want to, it does not justify our neglect of coming together as believers to worship the Lord our God. We are to come together as a church, the body of Christ, and worship Jesus. Christians should be in church on Sunday, our Sabbath, to worship God with other believers. Paul reminds us: “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16) Jesus created the Sabbath and He had a right to have his followers pick and eat grain. God did not begrudge his children eating what he has created on the day he created for them! However, that does not excuse us from doing whatever we desire on the day we should set aside for worship. Believers are to “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” (Exodus 20:8) not because of legalism, but because it honors and glorifies God and his Son Jesus whom created it for our benefit.
Conclusion:
Today we have learned two things about the Sabbath: 1) The Sabbath is for God’s children, and 2) God created the Sabbath. Now, how will you spend your coming Sundays? Waiting for God to “bless you” or worshipping him as you are supposed to?
---
This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission to use the entire article.
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