"And when the apostles returned, they recounted to Him all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He slipped away by Himself to a city called Bethsaida. But when the crowds became aware of this, they followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing."
Good Morning beloved,
We welcome you to worship today in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Every time we gather together to read, study and exposit the Word of God, we have the privilege of knowing our God better, to better understand His instructions, so that we might be better equipped to serve Him better, to worship Him, to exalt Christ with greater love and devotion. Through ongoing authentic fellowship, we can create an environment where each member of the family of God can thrive spiritually. I believe that we may often take for granted the fact that we not only have the privilege, we have the freedom to worship the One True Living God. It is the greatest privilege of my life to be able to preach about Christ, however, I must confess to pursue the knowledge of Christ, so that I may know Him intimately, far exceeds even that privilege.
It is an ongoing quest that continually challenges me, which involves immersing myself in the Scriptures. I very strongly believe that the privilege of preaching through much prayer and meditation, should significantly surpass the mere acquisition of knowledge. If you are a pastor, and your time in Scripture doesn't deepen your personal relationship with Him, enhancing your ability to convey His message to others with greater authenticity and compassion, you're merely going through the motions, checking the boxes. It is not enough to just accumulate biblical knowledge or theological insights, the true essence of Scripture lies in integrating Christ's profound teachings into one's own life, so that we become more like God, and more effectively representing Him in the world. If you're exegeses and your theology doesn't ignite a fervent longing to become more like the Lord you profess to love and if they do not make you want to spend more time with Christ, you're headed down the wrong path, you're playing church, while moving toward destruction. May I suggest that it may be time to reassess principles and priorities, ensuring that your faith is not just a routine obligation but a heartfelt commitment to Christ, where your beliefs are lived. I am thoroughly convinced this shift in perspective can lead to a more meaningful and fulfilling walk with our Lord.
There is an overwhelming number of "professional Christians" who may know the doctrine well, however, despite their extensive knowledge, they wouldn't know holiness, righteousness, godliness if it were to directly confront them, causing them to trip, knocking them to the floor. Just examine their lives. I am convinced this inconsistency is not just a minor oversight but a very significant issue, as it highlights the massive chasm between understanding God's Word and putting it into practice. Spiritual maturity isn't a matter of merely wishing, wanting or even through the power of positive affirmations, but rather, it necessitates the practical application of the teachings and principles we learn. Simply declaring one's intention without action is not only insufficient, it's absolutely useless. Superficial worship of One True Living God is not an option for true Christians. Nor is superficial fellowship.
Anybody that knows me, knows I absolutely rejoice in fellowship; there is no question about that, but there is another side of it, where we have to face the reality that there are many all around us, our families, our places of work, our schools who are unsaved, they are unbelievers, they are not self-sacrificing, who refuse to participate in our happiness, in our joy. Why you ask, because the world's definition of happiness and joy are not the same as ours, it doesn't align with God's definition. The world wants to to pursue happiness and joy on their own terms and when inevitably collides with ours, there's going to be a conflict, it's unavoidable if we're living as we ought for Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works."
Beloved, righteous living is never appreciated by a callous, indifferent, unsympathetic, unbelieving world, no matter where they are. Now, that's going to include some within the church, who are convinced they belong to God because they go to church, that are full of hypocrisy and corruption. They lived by the world's standards, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The problem is, they think they're saved, however, when we confront unrighteousness, they're going to react exactly the way the world reacts. They will react with the same resentful spirit that is characteristic of this fallen world. They won't even be able to understand where we're coming from, our confrontation of sin and unrighteous not acceptable to them. "Who do you think you are you to confront me? Just leave me alone and let me do my own thing!" We must not allow that to deter us from the way a true believer is called to function in the world. The fact we are compelled to confront unrighteousness and sin will become a testimony to you that we belong to God. We are commanded to be the salt of the earth, we do not let persecution forfeit our saltiness, ever. It's doing exactly what God designed it to do.
The world is going to hate us, they may persecute us, but we still have to be salt to influence them. Salt is needed where there is, it retards decay. It won't stop it but it slows the process.
If we lose our saltiness, we're no longer good for anything, except to be trampled on under the foot of men, right? We're useless. Salt has a tremendous influence on the unredeemed flesh. Have you ever gotten salt in an open wound? It's an antiseptic, so it burns, it burns. If there is bacteria present, it is forced out, salt help to cleanse the wound so it can heal by a process called osmosis. Hospitals use a saline solution today. That's where the phrase "salt in an open wound" comes from, did you know that? Many secular phrases used today come from the Bible, like you're not worth your salt. That's why we cannot have Christians that compromise with the world, we are commanded to confront sin face-to-face, we cannot be part of the system. Darkness needs the light, so come what may, we have to take up the cross and follow Christ. By the way, when He confronted the corruption in the temple, He overturned the tables of the money changers, and drove everybody out with a whip with righteous indignation, didn't He? It serves as a powerful reminder that we must actively confront wrongdoing, especially within the church, the house of God. To be clear, I'm not suggesting that you go to church and start flipping things overt, I'm just saying we have to confront sin, especially in the house of God. If you claim to be a believer, it comes with the responsibility, you have to confront sin. If you have never separated from the world, you've got a serious problem, you're still corrupted. Being part of the world contradicts the call for holiness.
You can't live on the fence, it's symbolic of indecision and compromise,
a domain owned by Satan. You're either a Peter, who, despite his many failings, ultimately chose faithfulness to Christ, or you're a Judas, who betrayed Christ for worldly gain. If you are going to call yourself a Christian, you have to confront sin, it might be difficult, it might feel uncomfortable at times, it requires great courage, boldness and strength, but there's going to a tremendous security in knowing that you belong to Christ. By the way, that also involves acknowledging your shortcomings, which is a humbling experience. The harsh truth, the sad reality is, the church of the tares, those who merely identify as Christians without embodying Christianity's principals, is actually much, much larger than the church of the wheat, which consists of genuine believers faithfully committed to living by the teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The church is filled with people who call themselves Christians, many regularly attend church services, but if you look closely, examining their behaviors and attitudes outside the church, and sometimes in the church, when they think nobody is watching, the difference between the true and the false is so evident it's undeniable, the hypocrisy is unmistakably apparent, that it is inescapable. I believe it's safe to say, the majority of professing Christians, are indistinguishable from the world. Apart from their profession, you can no longer tell which side their on. A true Christian must live above the world.
I've been asked a number of times, "Where do you get all this material?" It's not so hard, just look at the church. I can't imagine what Christ must have felt as He looked upon Jerusalem and wept. The church is to have no fellowship with the world, but the church doesn’t live separated from the world very well today, does it. I am convinced that's why we no longer have a believable testimony. Oh sure, we might talk a good game, but where the rubber meets the road, when it comes right down to it, we don't practice what we preach. In fact, the church doesn’t even articulate the rules by which we ought to live very well, that God has set forth. We dare not confront sin, because we don't want to offend anybody. God forbid you confront unrighteousness, you'll be labeled a trouble maker, a rebel rouser, we used to call 'em in my day. A rebel rouser is one who stirs up the masses, and gets everybody excited, "He's a "demagogue," a Greek word for someone perceived as pernicious, who stirs up the common people against the elites by exaggerating danger. Where is the Christians commitment to the authoritative Word of God?
When most people evaluate their lives, they compare their lives to other people on the basis of their outward appearance. 1 Samuel 16:7, reminds us "God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart." God doesn’t care about what you appear to be on the outside, He doesn't care who people think you are. He is concerned about who you actually are on the inside. God is concerned with the heart. Matthew 23:27, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness."
Their righteousness was external. God has never changed His standards, they have remained consistent and unchanged, especially morally. This isn’t anything new, Jesus fulfilled the law, He didn't abolish it; the judicial law and the moral law relevance and authority still stands. Jesus elevated the laws to their rightful place, emphasizing their true intent, saying "It's not enough not to commit adultery physically. You shouldn’t even look on a woman to lust after her." I believe this underscores the importance of purity is not just in one's actions, but in their thoughts and intentions as well, by cultivating a deeper sense of righteousness, focusing on inner transformation rather than outward appearances. You can't bring about change if you haven't been changed.
Let's pray together
Heavenly Father,
Father, how thankful we are for Your Word. Our hearts are full of gratitude for the divine wisdom You impart upon us. Lord, we know the bar has been set so high, in our human frailty, we could never achieve it apart from Christ. Only the righteousness of Your Son, Jesus Christ, can grant us the power to fulfill the law. Now that You have given us Your righteousness, help us to become on the inside what profess to be on the outside. O Father, it is my desire to ensure that all who bear witness to Your name may live lives free from hypocrisy. Through the power of Your Spirit, we have the power to overcome hypocritical worship, so that we might live for Your glory. Let our battles not be driven by our own selfish desires, but for Your kingdom. While I am concerned about this fallen world, this world is not my primary issue, it's perishing with all of it's troubles and achievements; the Kingdom of God is where we will live for all eternity, let Your kingdom be the concern of heart. Grant us the boldness to proclaim Your Word to that end. In Christ's precious Name.
Amen.
Today's message: The Heart of Jesus
While the intention of my heart is always to stay on track as much as possible, I've learned to surrender control to the guidance of the Spirit of God, trust Him to take control, embracing wherever direction that He takes us, which I confess, is often as exciting for me as it is for you. How can we call ourselves Christians, if we live not for Christ? If we're living for our own desires, our own ambitions and our own glory rather than the One we claim to love, adore and serve. How easily we stray from all that it means to be a Christian. Before we go hastily blurting out our prayer requests, the never-ending list of things we want Him to do for us, do we pause long enough to even consider His desires, His purposes and the plans He has for our day, opening ourselves up to the possibility of the unexpected? Does Isaiah 55 not teach that His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts than our thoughts? And, if we have the certainty that it does, do we believe His divine wisdom surpasses our own limited understanding?
Why is it so hard to surrender our will to His despite knowing that it's better to live a holy life? How can His will be done in and through our lives if we refuse to acknowledge His Lordship, compounded by our reluctance to fully embrace the belief that His intentions for us are rooted in His divine love and are ultimately for our good? The difficulty in abandoning our own our inherent human tendency lies in our tendency to cling to the familiar, to maintain self-control. We are often irresistibly drawn towards the immediate and tangible, a common human inclination, favoring what we can see and touch over the unseen, a path that is not clear, where immediate results aren't apparent can seem daunting and risky. It can be incredibly difficult to surrender the present life for the eternal hope, which is ultimately more rewarding. For instance, choosing a job that is more stable with less income over pursuing a dream that promises fulfillment but comes with financial uncertainty.
I believe that reflection is crucial, an extremely important practice, necessary for personal growth that allows us to look back at our experiences, recalling both the highs and the lows, as well as the obstacles we've encountered and conquered to gain valuable insight, enhancing our self-awareness of our behaviors and choices, helping us to make more informed decisions as we navigate the future. Yet, in the daily routine of our busy lives, we often neglect to take time to reflect on our lives, the importance of taking a moment to contemplate our lives, meditate on the blessings we have received, the people who have touched our lives and the moments that have significantly changed our lives, and in turn, appreciating the present, which is vital in a world marked by confusion, where Satan has created distractions and diversions.
So, let's open our Bibles and turn them to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 9, today we'll be reflecting back on an absolutely obscure moment, that seamlessly connects us to the event where Jesus, with nothing in His hands took the five loaves and two fish, and by His divine power, multiplied them, creating enough food to feed the five thousand, one of the most memorable miracles of His ministry. It is truly astonishing to me how numerous religious traditions and beliefs often focus their attention on the wrong places, the wrong people or even highlight narratives and experiences that, upon closer examination, may not have actually transpired in reality, however, treating them as though they actually did.
I encourage you to follow along with me as I read to set it in our minds, and allow it to settle deeply within our hearts, creating an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to help us see beyond what we can perceive in our minds through the Word and guide us to make the necessary applications, allowing them to transform our lives. Luke 9:10-11.
"And when the apostles returned, they recounted to Him all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He slipped away by Himself to a city called Bethsaida. But when the crowds became aware of this, they followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing."
Let's look at verse 10, "And when the apostles returned, they recounted to Him all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He slipped away by Himself to a city called Bethsaida." And when the apostles returned, if you will remember we noted in verses 1 through six, Jesus called the twelve together, who had been following Him, heard His preaching, witnessed His many miracles, He gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal those who were ill. He then instructed them to take nothing for their journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; nor have two tunics apiece and He sent out two by two into the region of Galilee to proclaim the same message we are commanded to urgently proclaim today, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Now, they have returned from their short-term mission after a number of weeks and they are recounting to Him their experiences and all that they had done, as He listened intently to all the things that occurred during their mission. I'd like you to notice that we're not given any details about the account they gave to Him, that's because it's not important, we do know they were obedient and did exactly as He had instructed them to do, that's what important. All the miracles that Jesus has been doing setting the stage for this final public miracle, a supernatural act that can only be described as being done by the Creator Himself, which we'll look at next time.
Next, we learn Jesus takes them with Him, He slipped away by Himself to a city called Bethsaida. I imagine after weeks and weeks of casting out demons, healing the sick, proclaiming the kingdom, they were tired and weary. Recognizing their need for rest, He had compassion on them and wanted to take them away to somewhere private, where they could all get some much needed rest. If you will remember from our study in Mark chapter six, He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while. For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat." If you're like me, you sometimes feel guilty if you stop and rest, I mean they are so many who desperately need to hear the Gospel, so you push yourself to keep going and going. I want you to know, the Lord understands your body has a need for rest, sleep is necessary for a body to be restored, as is nutrition. So, when you're tired and hungry, stop rest and eat, the Lord understands what it is to be tired and hungry. He take them with Him and they slip away to a city called Bethsaida. We really don't know very much about Bethsaida, actually called Bethsaida Julius, except that it was a small, unpretentious fishing village outside of Galilee, on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee. We can not be dogmatic about it's exact location, because they aren't any ruins left to identify that. What is important, is that once you got into the area called Perea, Herod the tetrarch, the wicked ruler who had John the Baptist beheaded, who is now looking for Jesus is not in control. So, Jesus decided He'd go into Bethsaida which was in the territory of Herod's brother, Philip the tetrarch, who was governor of the region in 30 AD, and one of the four rulers of Israel, after it was divided after the death of Herod the Great.
It was more importantly, one of the places literally permanently cursed by Jesus in Matthew 11:21, "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." Man, what an indictment. Tyre and Sidon were historically pagan towns, rooted deeply in Baal worship, previously destroyed by God for their idolatry, they were despised by the Jews, yet, at the Great White Throne Judgement, when all the ungodly are brought before the living God, Jesus says it's going to be better for them than it's going to be for Bethsaida. Tragically, there are many unconverted sinners who will fair better in the Great White Throne Judgement than many religious hypocrites who should have known better.
It would seem logical that those who have waited for years, even endured so much for generations, holding onto prophecies, the hope and promises, yearning for the coming of the Messiah would have been ecstatic, relieved upon His arrival. But sadly, they didn't confess their sins, they didn't repent, rejected Him instead.
That brings us to verse 11, "But when the crowds became aware of this, they followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing." But when the crowds became aware of this, they followed Him. Let's face it, when people discover that a person is capable of performing such extraordinary feats; such as healing the sick, casting out demons, and resurrecting the dead, combined with the promise of salvation and the forgiveness of sin, you're not going to be able get rid of them. Sadly, like many in our contemporary society today, these were superficial followers of Jesus, their primary focus was not on seeking salvation or the forgiveness of sin, they were driven by their desire for immediate relief from their suffering, they craved instant solutions, they wanted quick fixes for their problems over the benefits of lasting spiritual transformation and divine grace.
When Jesus and the twelve got to the shore, there were massive crowds of people waiting for them and welcoming them. Knowing the hearts of men, I believe we could all understand if He would said, "You know something, I've had enough, I don't feel like dealing with these people anymore! Let's turn this boat around and go somewhere else." But He didn't. I believe that Jesus is painting a vivid picture by His example, He is challenging each of us to learn from His unmatched compassion and selflessness service for those in need. Mark tells us when He saw them, He looked upon them as lost sheep without a shepherd to lead them to green pastures and still waters where they could thrive, something Jesus was ready and willing to provide by speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing. That's the heart of God, even their superficiality couldn't stop Him from caring about their souls as well as their bodies. If you are to belong to Christ, if you are going to represent Him, you are commanded to exhibit the same kind of compassion on those who are suffering, just as Jesus did. That involves going beyond mere "thoughts and prayers," it means rolling up your sleeves and jumping in action, by bringing hope to the hopeless.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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