Resting His Case, pt.2

Friends,

Yep, this is one of those types of stories -- A Roman Catholic priest, a Christian pastor and a Jewish rabbi were talking one day about their belief in miracles.  The Roman Catholic said that he believed in miracles and illustrated it by telling of a recent incident when he had flown to Durban. As the aircraft began its final approach, a tremendous storm broke, the rain was pouring down, there were loud claps of thunder and the plane was being tossed about. The priest had prayed for a miracle and "for a hundred yards all around the plane there was a great stillness and the plane landed safely."  The pastor too said that he believed in miracles. When on a vacation in Cape Town, South Africa, he and his wife had taken the trip out to a nearby island.  On their return to Cape Town harbor, however, a great wind suddenly rose and the waves were very soon many yards high. They feared for their lives and the pastor prayed for a miracle, and "for a hundred yards around the boat there was a great stillness and the boat arrived safely in the harbor."  The rabbi said that he had come to believe in miracles through an event that had taken place the previous Saturday.  During a Sabbath service, a visitor from America had arrived with a suitcase full of ten-dollar notes which he chose to give to the synagogue.  According to the traditions, there was a problem concerning how to count all this money on the Sabbath? So, I prayed for a miracle, and “for a hundred yards all around the suitcase it was Wednesday!"  (Adapted from Andy Barnard's Sermon "Keep the Sabbath")

As we return to a group of people including Jesus, His disciples and some Pharisees, once again, we see how Jesus deals with the Pharisees concerning how they have interpreted the Sabbath.  As we discussed previously, the Sabbath law was given to Israel as a mark of her relationship with God (Exodus 20, 31:13-17, Nehemiah 9:12-15).  The Pharisees, who sacrificed to obey their Sabbath laws, thought that they were serving God by adding a number of regulations to what was already sufficient doctrine and practice.  When they accuse Jesus and His disciples, they believe that they are defending God. (Good thing folks today are not guilty of such actions). :-)

By declaring Himself, “Lord of the Sabbath,” Jesus affirms equality with the Father who gave the Sabbath.  In Mark’s account we see that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27), so Jesus continues to teach, train.  The context and background for all of this information is that the Sabbath was originally designed for man’s good.  Jesus comes to this place and time in order to point out that the traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees concerning the Sabbath actually run counter to and diminish the principle and law of the Sabbath itself. And so, as Jesus came to fulfill the Law, the legal purpose of the Sabbath…in being a part of the Law…was fulfilled and abolished.  Therefore, Christians are no longer under the authority of the Jewish Sabbath. By making the statement recorded in Mark 2, Jesus implicitly challenges the whole Sabbath theology of the post-exile Jews.  As indicated in the last message, to require man to deny his own needs in order to keep the Sabbath was to pervert the institution…men were to be free from the burdensome restrictions in keeping the day.  Jesus declares man’s freedom from the rabbinic Sabbath with all of its traditions in as much as He is Lord of the Sabbath.  All of this allowed Him to have the authority to do healings and perform other ministry on the Sabbath day, as we have seen.  So all of this is why the next part of the story makes more sense. 

Following the first discussion (Matthew 12:1-8), Jesus now actually goes to their synagogue, the Jews place of worship. This serves to reveal the growing tension between Jesus and Jewish religious establishment. A man is there who has a withered hand, which means that it is dry, lifeless…perhaps paralyzed.  The Pharisees quickly seize upon the situation and ask Jesus if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath?  Jesus’ response is not to assert His own authority in any way, nor to quote some example from the Old Testament, but to point out the inconsistency of their own practice.  The religious leaders are strict in prohibiting the healing of someone with a malady, but not where their own property is concerned.  The irony being that they would make rules to save an animal, but would not waive them in order to save a man…so, I guess we now recognize these folks as the original tree huggers. ;-) 

Jesus serves by healing a man with a withered hand, which is almost incidental to the story behind the story.  But, the command for the man to stretch out his immovable hand illustrates that the healing is connected to the man’s faith…which is not unlike how Jesus handles some other healings.  The Pharisees see the healing as a deliberate challenge to their Sabbath traditions. A single infringement upon the traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees would not seem to be sufficient to warrant the reaction that they now display.  But, this second “transgression” taking place in such short order appears to be more than they can bear. So, the Pharisees plot together to consider how it is that they can destroy Jesus.  The Lord, understanding their hearts and their nefarious plotting, withdraws from there.

Ross Cochrane offers this -- yesterday, I got rid of some thorny weeds growing like trees in the back garden. The thorns were now like razor sharp nails and so it was difficult to get to the roots without punctures, scratches and a bad attitude. I knew that if I didn’t get to the roots, they would just grow again so I used the mattock. A mattock is a hand tool similar to a pickaxe, particularly suited for digging. Unfortunately, I am not! It took forever to dig around the roots and pull out the bulbous, deformed hand of the root system with its disfigured fingers reaching out insidiously in all directions. Hebrews 12:15 (NLT) warns us "...Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many." There were some poisonous, thorny people that Jesus had to deal with that day in Matthew 12. They were razor sharp in their responses to Jesus and just as destructive. The clawed fingers of their law system were distorted, malformed and particularly difficult to uproot. It is not at all surprising that Jesus uses a man with a deformed hand to illustrate what needed to be done if ever they were to be healed of a deformed heart.  This verse says something about Jesus. He didn’t back away from weeding God’s garden. He meets me on my turf. He confronts me about my legalism in the place where I am more deformed on the inside than this man’s withered hand, in the synagogue of my own making

We have to guard our hearts.  We don’t want to become like the Pharisees, making laws and regulations which bind the hearts and actions of men.  Unfortunately, this practice is still all too alive and well today in many places.  But, we must understand that Jesus comes to set us free from these matters.  Remember the beginning of last week’s message – He does not come to add burdens to our lives and spirits, but to give us rest for our souls. (Matthew 11:28-30, see also 1 John 5:1-4)  This principle of rest should follow times of service, as this is what keeps us fresh, energized and avoiding becoming weary or burned out. We do tend to think that we are invincible, however, and that we can work, work and work some more…but, it can and will catch up to us in physical, mental and emotional distress.  There was a very important purpose for the Sabbath from the very beginning, as the Lord planned it.  And it was intended to be man’s servant, not his master, as the Pharisees had made it.  As I mentioned previously, we need 30 hours in a day to sort everything we have going on, which is all the more reason why we must work at resting.  Granted, we do not keep an actual physical “Sabbath” in the literal sense.  But, in a very real, spiritual sense, we need to make and take time for ourselves, and with our families, not to mention some time for the Lord.

Blessings, Don

The Gentle Healer

Friends,

Peter Kennedy shares this story concerning Brian Birdwell, Republican politician from Granbury, TX. -- On September 11, 2001, Lt. Col. Birdwell stepped into a Pentagon hallway when the fireball from the hijacked plane hit him. After recovering from the initial shock, Birdwell realized he was on fire. "Jesus, I'm coming to see you," he remembers praying. When doctors finally attended to him at the Washington Burn Center, they found second- and third-degree burns over 40 percent of Birdwell's body. To save him, they performed several skin graft operations. On September 13, while lying in his bed in the burn center, Laura Bush visited Brian's room and spoke to him for about a minute, all the time as if they were life-long acquaintances. She then turned to Brian's wife, Mel, who had been at the hospital for about two-and-a-half days. She was dirty, grimy, and wore a bloodstained shirt. Despite this, Laura gave her a long hug, as if she were a close family member. Laura then told them that there was "someone" there to see him. The President walked in. Standing by Brian's bedside, the President told Colonel Birdwell that he was very proud of them both and regarded them as heroes. The President then saluted Brian. Brian slowly began to return the salute, taking about 15 to 20 seconds to get his hand up to his head because of his bandaged arms. During all of this, President Bush never moved. He dropped his salute only when Brian was finished with his. Birdwell lives now with renewed purpose. "I'm a walking miracle. Christ got me out of the fire. In him not taking me, that means I have a mission to complete.” He and his wife now operate, Facing the Fire Ministries, an organization that serves to help burn victims, and he is currently serving in the Texas Senate.

What we can learn is that our Lord is a compassionate God, one who is with us in our most hurting times. He is one who knows our pain and one who can deliver us for a purpose. We can thank the Lord for healing, whether it is physical, emotional, spiritual, or eternal. As we come to Matthew 8, it is important to understand that lepers, Gentiles and women were considered outcasts by many Jewish people, especially the Pharisees. Many Pharisees would pray each morning, “I give thanks that I am a man and not a woman, a Jew and not a Gentile, a free-man and not a slave.”  Yeah, nice folks. There are a number of afflictions that the Word of God classifies as leprosy. The dreaded infection forced them to live apart from others and cry, “Unclean, unclean!” when others approached, so they would not be defiled. This would certainly be humiliating.  Jesus recognizes their plight and has mercy on them.  We see a number of stories involving Jesus cleansing lepers in the gospels.

None of the above business concerning how lepers should act, shouting “unclean,” deters one particular leper who, upon seeing Jesus, violates the code as he runs up to Him. This is evidence that this fellow has great faith that Jesus would heal him.  What happens next is nothing short of remarkable in a number of ways – Jesus reaches out and touches him.  He knows how important it would be to him, Who knows how long it had been since that had happened for this person? Nonetheless, the Lord is willing to take on the leper’s defilement, although it would have no effect on Him, and in turn, bring healing back to the man. The leper does not question Jesus’ ability to heal…he only wonders if Jesus will be willing to heal him. But, this act is just a small reflection of the greater reality that Jesus comes to heal and save man from his sins. Jesus commands the man not to tell others, but to go to the priests and declare him restored and able to back into society. It is interesting that the man does not obey Christ, as he tells everyone what the Lord has done. Mark’s account (1:45) reveals that the healed lepers witness forces Jesus to avoid the city…and yet the crowds still come to Him.

Another story of healing takes place concerns a centurion, which once again, is recorded in other gospel accounts.  A centurion is an officer who commands a hundred men in the Roman army.  Every centurion mentioned in the gospels is a man of high character and sense of duty…and this man is no exception. The fact that he is concerned with a lowly servant who has palsy (or is paralyzed) indicates this fact. Much like the leper, it would seem that everything about this man would prevent him from coming to see Jesus – he is a soldier, Jesus is a man of peace…he is a Gentile, while Jesus is a Jew.  But, this man has great faith!  He understands that Jesus is under authority, but that he also has authority.  All Jesus has to do is speak the word and the servant will be healed.  It is recorded only twice in the gospels that Jesus marveled…and this is one of those times.  He finds the great faith of the centurion wondrous!  This appears to be an early indication that the Jews are not going to believe, but that the Gentiles are going to do so.

Finally, we see Peter and Andrew letting Jesus know that Peter’s mother-in-law is ill.  She is in bed with a fever, but Jesus heals her with a simple touch.  She then gets up and serves them.  So, we see Jesus heal two people by touching them, and heal one from a distance…there are no obstacles to what Jesus is capable of doing in healing those in need.  This seems like a “minor miracle, but the results are major.  At sundown, the entire city gathers at the door that the Lord might meet their needs.  The change in one woman’s life leads to miracles in the lives of many people.

The movie about the acclaimed book, Heaven is For Real, came out on dvd a few weeks ago.  It is the fascinating story concerning Colton Burpo, who suffers a near-death experience in which he claims to have visited heaven.  When their young son Colton enters the hospital with a life-threatening illness, devastated parents Todd and Sonja Burpo are uncertain whether he will make it out of the operating room alive. But in what Colton's doctors credit as "a miracle," he survives -- and with an incredible story that seems to confirm the existence of heaven. Later, despite Colton's accurate and intimate revelations about people he has never encountered -- including his sister who died in utero and his late grandfather -- skeptics hastily dismiss any possibility that the young boy's fantastic claims could be true. Meanwhile, his astonished parents seek meaning in the alleged miracle that has turned their once-peaceful lives completely upside down.

Regardless of where you fall concerning the story, it is a fascinating read.  And it highlights something very important for everyone to consider.  Jesus is about seeing people come to Him.  This is what His ministry was all about.  He did not go out of His way for anyone…they were His way.  We live and seek to serve as Jesus did, and in this we emulate our Master.  We may not be able to perform the miracles He performed, but we might just have the opportunity to see one sometime. Kent Brantly contracted Ebola as the result of working as a doctor in Liberia.  Thanks be to God that he has been completely healed of the virus.  Yet, as often as there are great stories of healing, there are others who do not experience such healing, at least physically.  And as one person shared with me when they were asked what to pray for when someone is gravely ill, they replied…just pray for healing. Healing takes place…whether it be physical, or eternal.  As difficult as it is, for those who are in Christ, healing is a blessing either way.

Blessings, Don

Prayer's Focus

Friends,

Last week was national day of prayer (week), and I spent some time not only pondering about prayer, but actually doing more of it.  I believe that this is an area of our lives that can always bear some improving.  It is with this thought in mind that I offer the following thoughts.  

A faithful, healthy prayer life is the challenge of James (5:13-18), the brother of Jesus. He tells his readers at the end of his letter that there are a number of times and places when we need to pray. He says that when we are suffering, we need to pray (v. 13). He is writing to some people who are facing significant persecution for their faith…and that they have the ability to endure hardship patiently if they call upon the Lord. The Psalmist, Asaph recognizes this as he says concerning the Lord – “call upon me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor me” (Psalms 50:12).

When people are ill, they need to pray, as restoration can come through a prayer of faith (vv. 14-15). James says that those who are sick should call upon the elders and have them come pray. In this context, they pour oil upon the one who is ill, associating it with the healing. Many scholars believe that this was medicinal…and so, there may be some defined purpose in using it. As to whether this was the only purpose and time for it being used, it is hard to say. What we can come to understand is an important recognition -- the Lord is the Great Healer, and not man. There are some who might call attention to the act of healing, when in actuality, it is the fact of healing that matters.  If it does or does not take place is in the hands of the Lord. The prayer offered in faith can affect this, which is amazing in and of itself. The Lord can raise up the one who is ill as the result of such a prayer. Also, sinners can be forgiven through the prayer of faith. The assumption is that man may become sick as the result of sin. This can be the case, as guilt and other negative emotions can wear people down physically, mentally, emotionally in such a way that they are more susceptible to becoming ill. Everyone can and does sin…and yet, our sins can be and are forgiven if we pray and ask for forgiveness. The Apostle John tells us this in his letter (1 John 1:9).

James provides an example of someone who was faithful in prayer. Elijah is an example of perseverance in prayer. He was no superman, but was like us in every way. He was very serious about his relationship with Lord, as James says -- he, literally, “prayed with prayer.” He was intent., as he prayed and it did not rain for three and a half years, as a lesson to the Israelites, but he prayed again at the end of this time and the Lord provided rain (1 Kings 17,18). Even Jesus references this event in Luke 4:25. Elijah had a great faith in an even greater God.

James climaxes his message by explaining the loving-kind and prayerful relationship that Christians should have with one another and with God. Christians should confess their sins…to one another...so they can be in prayer for one another. This involves trust. We should not have to be concerned about revealing ourselves, but need to pray concerning building relationships that are based upon love and trust. Who is it that is able to accomplish this? It is “the righteous person.” And who is this? The person whose sins are confessed and forgiven, the one seeks to the will of God with all of their heart. What we understand is that prayer is supposed to get results. God is not just sitting back in some cosmic rocking chair watching matters unfold in our world. He is near…and He can and does respond to our pleas to Him. Prayer’s ultimate result is to reveal a right relationship with God through the Son.

A minister tells the story of another minister who believed he received protection as a result of prayer. This man had developed the discipline of beginning every day with an hour of prayer. One particular day, however, he felt a strong leading to pray longer, so he continued for a second hour. After two hours he still felt the need to keep on praying, so he persevered for a third hour asking for God's protection and blessing on his day; as well as for other things. He then felt released from the need to pray longer so he stopped. That evening as he was mowing his lawn, he felt something repeatedly brush up against his leg. He looked down and saw a coiled rattlesnake trying to strike him, but it just couldn't hit him. Instead, it kept brushing either side of his leg. Why had the man felt the need to pray longer that morning? What was he doing? Some would say, God doesn't need three hours of prayer to protect one from a rattlesnake. I would agree. He didn't "need" seven days of marching around Jericho to tear it down either, but He chose to do it that way. He didn't "need" to spit in a person's eye to heal them, but He did once. Why He requires things to be done certain ways, we don't always know, but we do know that for us, obedience is the key. Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets, pp.80,81.
 
What is at the heart of this message? It is concerning the heart -- it is about your heart! As Matthew West shares in his popular song, we cannot simply go through the motions and expect to cultivate a close relationship with God. If our heart is not focused in a heavenly direction concerning any number of aspects of spiritual life and living, not to mention worship assembly time, then the Lord is not going to be able to effectively work in our lives. Our prayers have the ability to accomplish much, if we are seeking His will for our lives. Care enough to spend some time every day with the Lord in prayer…and care enough to share in prayer together for others. I conclude with a billboard message that I have seen – “the family that prays together stays together.”  

Blessings, Don

Living Outside the Box, Pt. 2

Friends,

I posted something on Facebook the other day that the Lord put on my heart. We live in a culture where many things come easy. As it relates to closeness with God, this is not necessarily the case...it requires desire, humility and diligence. He wants us to be close to Him...and we certainly need it. (James 4:8a) I believe many people assume, and even expect, that faith should come easy, but that is just not the case. And when they find themselves struggling to believe, they do not understand it. As the old saying goes, when there is distance between you and God, He hasn’t gone anywhere. It is you and I who create the gap through our lack of faith, or even worse, living worldly. So, as we come back to consider what is taking place in the life of a fascinating individual…who by all rights and understandings, should not have faith in God…we are inspired to live more faithfully for the Lord

The Roman centurion is a person of great faith who is not afraid to cross racial and social barriers (Luke 7:1-10). He displays a deep love and affection for a servant who is ill to the point of death, and He seeks out a Jewish religious leader for answers. He also desires to immerse himself in the work of God, even making a significant contribution to the building of a Jewish synagogue. Here is a gentile soldier that is concerned about Jewish worship, which is remarkable. As we continue to examine the characteristics that reveal this centurion to be a person of amazing faith, we see that this man approaches Christ with great humility (vv. 6-7a). These verses reveal two essential components of the Christian faith – an understanding of whom Christ is (Savior) and an understanding of who we are (helpless sinners).

In verse six we find this, “Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. (7) Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to you.” Before Jesus could reach his house, the Centurion sends a second representative to Jesus, telling him that it is not necessary for Him to come to his house. Because he was familiar with Jewish religious customs, the centurion did not wish to put Jesus in a position of having to enter the house of a Gentile. This Roman soldier, a man of considerable influence and power, is uniquely humble, regarding himself as undeserving of having Jesus come under his roof. He even felt unworthy of meeting Jesus in the street. This soldier, unlike the Pharisees, does not ask Jesus for a sign that he is who he says he is. This man doesn’t even ask to meet him.

Finally, we see this Roman trust, as the song says, “in Christ alone.” (vv. 7a-8) “… But say the word, and my servant will be healed. (8) For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” The centurion apparently realizes that Jesus has the power of life and death…that He could heal with a word, and therefore, must be God. And if Christ is divine, then he…a Gentile sinner…is unworthy even to meet him. Respectfully, he kneels before his divine authority. All Jesus has to do is say the word, and the centurion believes that it is as good as done. There is no evidence that this man has ever personally heard Jesus preach and yet he believes! He makes his request based on what he has heard concerning Jesus. And Jesus promises a special blessing on people like this centurion. When Jesus appears to Thomas and removes all of his doubts, proving that he has risen from the dead, he says to Thomas, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29). This blessing extends to the centurion and to every believer today. In the word “also” in verse eight, the centurion sees a parallel between the way he commands his soldiers and the way Jesus commands diseases. If this man, with very little spiritual instruction, has this kind of faith in God’s Word, how much greater should our faith be?
In verse nine we see Jesus’ reaction, “He marvels at him, and turns around and says to the crowd that follows Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, even in Israel!” This man’s remarks amaze Jesus…that they have come from a Gentile. He marvels at a Roman centurion, whose background and circumstances ought to have made it difficult for him to have faith. Here is a man whose occupation is one where he has to be “the tough guy”…a man who should be steeped in the paganism of the day…a man hated by the Jews because he is a Roman. Yet in spite of all the circumstances that go against him, he is a striking example of faith. And almost as an afterthought, Luke adds verse 10…and oh by the way, “When those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.” Faith that is genuine is fulfilled in and by Christ Jesus.

Pat Summerall has to be my favorite broadcaster of all time. He passed away this past spring at the age of 82. Pat spent 50 years with the National Football League. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1952 and played with the Chicago Cardinals and New York Giants until 1961. After his retirement from the game, he joined CBS as a broadcaster and in 1993 switched to Fox. During his CBS years he and a fellow broadcaster partied hard off the field. "We raised Cain” he says, “I was the first guy at the bar and the last to leave." His love of alcohol was well-documented. Summerall was told that if he kept on drinking he was going to die. After checking himself into the Betty Ford Clinic, his counselor urged him to seek a better life through faith. At age 66, Pat Summerall was baptized. In USA Today he told a reporter that when the minister "leaned me back in the water, I never felt so helpless." Summerall testified, "I knew I just became a Christian. I can’t tell you how great life has been since then." Summerall spent much of the past sixteen years of his life living outside of what had been his box. He spent his time telling people about his story, and how he left the world behind to become a Christian -- what a testimony!

Pat Summerall recognized that his life was not going to make sense and he was going to be enslaved to addiction unless he received some help. When we come back to the story of the centurion, he realizes that he needs help. What startles and impresses Jesus are the positive characteristics that are displayed in the life of the centurion. These characteristics can be displayed in the life of anyone who is willing to trust in Him. We do not have to settle for a mediocre faith. We do not have to hang out on the fringes of Christian society and the body of Christ. We can and should be “all in.” Jesus really does not expect anything less than this for us. He must be Lord of our lives, and not just some part time Christ. We need to prioritize and continue to prioritize our lives in a way that we are living as citizens of heaven on earth, first! This is our continual challenge.

Blessings, Don