A Word about Spiritual Warfare on the Road to the Cross

Today I want to share a word about spiritual warfare on the road to the cross as I comment on Mark 5. Let’s begin by reading Mark 5:1-5. 

They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.

Introduction:

Sometimes we lose what pilots call situational awareness.  That is, we just forget the situation we are in and lose sight of reality.  That was the way it was for a man who owned five dogs, and who had installed an “invisible fence” to keep them in his yard.  

An invisible fence is a wire buried in the ground around the boundaries of a property.  This wire emits a signal that can be received by a collar worn by a dog.  When the dog crosses the wire, it receives a painful shock. Following the principles of pavlovian conditioning, the dog is taught to stay at home and not to wander.

This invisible fence proved very effective, except when the man lost situational awareness.  Once when he was taking his dogs to the vet, he forgot to turn the fence off before he backed out of his driveway.  The dogs found that to be a shocking experience!

They say, “what goes around comes around,” and so it proved for this dog owner the next time he lost situational awareness.  He had a dog groomer to come to his house to groom his five dogs.  To do this the man had to take the shock collars off the dogs, and while he was holding them in his hand, he thought he’d go check his mailbox. The five shock collars activated the second he crossed the wire and reminded him of his mistake!

We, too, make a mistake when we forget that we are at war. I’m not referring to the war on terrorism or in Iraq. There has been a war raging since before time began. It is a spiritual war.  As Paul said in Ephesians 6:10-13:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

When we discussed how Christ controlled creation on the road to the cross, we observed that humans struggle to overcome even natural challenges, and therefore it is obvious that we are unequipped to fight in the supernatural realm. We are blessed, however, to know someone who not only can fight supernatural battles, but who also can win them, every time!

A Fearsome Spirit:

In the beginning of Mark 5, Jesus and His disciples were confronted by a fearsome spirit. This man was being used of Satan to strike fear in the hearts of people. People are afraid of Satan’s power as a supernatural being, and we are also afraid of his evil nature. Because we can’t see him, we are all the more afraid of him.

Truth be told, much of this fear is unnecessary for Christians. We regularly confuse fact with fiction. We have been conditioned by Hollywood horror productions. We have been deceived by hyped stories of Satan worship. Most of these tales are false and misleading.

At the same time, we should not discount Satan’s existence. He does exist, and he is evil and powerful. We ignore that reality at our own risk, and neither should we make light of evil, the way people do during Halloween and other cultural events which seem to celebrate evil. 

If we look at the subject of this story, we’ll see Satan at work. Satan had totally destroyed this man’s life! His existence was a living hell!

A Freeing Spirit:

Let’s continue by reading verses 6-13:

And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.

What happened when the man saw Jesus? He immediately ran to Jesus and worshipped him, and he begged Jesus for help. This is an object lesson for us as well. When we are tempted or oppressed by the Devil, we should do the same!

Jesus, of course, knew exactly with whom He was dealing. The spiritual world is not hidden to Jesus. Satan has opposed God to His face on many occasions, and Jesus Himself had recently been confronted by Satan. The demons also knew who Jesus was, and they reacted with fear. But, how did Jesus react to this confrontation? Jesus acted to free the man from this horrendous situation:

• Satan oppressed him.
• Jesus released him.
• Jesus prevented the spirits from going into another person.
• The man ended up dressed and in his right mind.

This was a complete job! No plea bargain was accepted! The guilty were prevented from hurting anyone else and a complete restoration of the man was realized. In this way, Jesus showed His complete mastery over the demons and spiritual forces of evil!

A Fearful Spirit:

As we read in verses 14-17, this dynamic event caused a mixture of reactions:

The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.

No one who meets with Jesus goes away unchanged. The townspeople reacted one way. The former demoniac reacted in an entirely different manner.

The townspeople reacted with a fearful spirit. They seemed to believe in the saying, “Better the devil you know than the one you don’t.” They did not know this Jesus and they rejected His power because of their fear. They would rather have the devil that they knew.

Even today, people are afraid of the power of Jesus in their lives:

• They are afraid to attend church because they might be challenged by God’s Word.
• They are afraid to release control of their lives to Jesus. 
• They are afraid to take risks on the behalf of God. 
• They give Jesus their broken lives to mend, but then they try to snatch then back.

Contrast that spirit of fear, with the new spirit possessed by the man who was formerly possessed by demons.

A Follower’s Spirit:

As mentioned before no one who meets with Jesus goes away unchanged. Finally, let’s see how the newly redeemed man’s spirit was transformed:

As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.  And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

The Bible tells us of many people whose lives were transformed by meeting Christ. This man was released from demons. Others were released from physical illness. Lazarus was released from death. Many, many others have been released from sin.

When our lives are changed by Christ, how should we respond? Our best response is gratefulness! We should be grateful about what Jesus has done for us. Sometimes this does not happen; Jesus once healed ten lepers but only one returned to Him, but it always should happen.

Although we can’t ever repay Jesus, we should be grateful to Him, and the best way to show that we are grateful is to follow Him. This is exactly what the former demoniac did, and this story ends with an example of what happens when we develop a follower’s spirit. People hear about Jesus and the power of God impacts people’s lives. People’s lives are changed, and abundant life in Christ happens!

Conclusion:

When Jesus sent out the twelve and then the seventy, they came back to Him proclaiming that “Even the demons were subject to us!” Because they followed Him and ministered in His Name, they saw first-hand that Jesus was the victor in spiritual warfare on the road to the Cross. He still is today.

If you are beset by spiritual oppression you can turn to Him and He will release you! Then, when you are released by the power of God, then you have the privilege and responsibility to help others be released.

Have you experienced the spiritual power of Jesus?  If not, you can today, if you will seek it!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

Teaching on the Road to the Cross

Today I want to share a word about teaching on the road to the cross as I comment on Mark 4. Let’s begin by reading verses 1-9. 

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Introduction:

My wife is a retired educator, and she disagrees with the idea that teaching is an easy profession. She strongly disagrees with the saying, “Those who can do, and those who can’t teach.”  That, as anyone who has ever taught knows, is a false statement.  Teaching isn’t all that easy.  Let me give you a couple of examples:

In every introductory psychology course in college, the students must participate in a laboratory experience where they train a white rat. In my school, we had to train the rat to react to a light by pressing a lever to get a treat.  You would think that training a dumb beast like a rat would be easy for intelligent humans, but that isn’t always the case. Every semester someone, often several students, trained the rat to grab the light instead of pressing the lever.  It isn’t all that easy to be a teacher.

Besides being a hard task, a teacher must be sure to teach the right things.  We often say that “practice makes perfect,” but in truth, “practice makes permanent.”  If you teach the wrong things, you will cause major problems for the students!  For example: A child’s aunt was trying to encourage the boy to learn his times tables. She told him, “You need to just rattle the answers off like snapping your fingers.  Like, you should be able to spit out 8 times 8 equals 72!”

If you didn’t understand that last part, remedial classes will be available soon!

It is not easy to be a teacher, but as we continue walk with Jesus on the road to the Cross, we will find that one of those things that He did well was to teach.  Today we will see Him demonstrating this craft, so we need to watch Him and learn. Let’s begin by looking at the ministry of the Teacher.

 The Ministry of the Teacher:

Jesus spent much of His ministry teaching, so much so that, in fact, He was often called “Rabbi,” which literally means, “teacher.” He taught from the beginning of His ministry until the end, and He took every opportunity He had to teach. Jesus taught in many different situations:

Jesus taught in the synagogue, among religious Jews.

• He taught as He walked and lived day by day with His disciples.
• He taught large crowds who came to see Him.
• He taught people in their homes at meals.
• He taught in the temple, and the scholars were amazed.
• He taught sinners as He showed them God’s love.
• He taught as He healed the sick and opened the eyes of the blind.

He has now passed on the ministry of teaching to us. The Great Commission instructed us to make disciples and to do that, we must teach them all that we ourselves have been taught. 

We are blessed that the Holy Spirit has given the gift of teaching to certain people, and those who have it must use it, but all of us are teachers, either intentionally in a class or with some we are mentoring, or organically, by the way we live our lives. Remember, Jesus told us in Acts 1:8 that we will be His witnesses, whether we choose to be or not!

As we teach, others learn about the love of God, and we learn more and more ourselves. In fact, the best way to learn is to teach.  The teacher always learns more than the students.

Next, let’s see the methods of the Teacher.

The Methods of the Teacher:

Mark 4:10-13 tells us:

And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that “‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’” And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

Different people learn through different techniques. Some people are visual learners, while others learn through hearing. Some are tactile learners, and almost everyone learns through doing. In His ministry, Jesus used the full range of teaching techniques.

He taught didactically, like in the Sermon on the Mount. He taught by example, like when He healed the paralytic. He taught through experience, by sending out His followers to do ministry two by two. Much of His teaching, however, was through parables.

The basic structure of most sermons includes exposition, explanation, illustration, and application, but a parable is an illustrated sermon. It is not a sermon illustration, but an illustrated sermon. We remember stories when we don’t remember the sermon, so a parable uses a story to teach a truth.

I remember very clearly the time my pastor was preaching a sermon and wound up a rift about the consequences of sin by proclaiming, “Be careful, for your sins will find you out, just like how God drowned the Israelites in the Red Sea!” For the record, it was the Egyptians who drowned in the Red Sea, but I will never forget what my pastor said that day about the consequences of sin, even though I don’t remember the rest of his message!

A less frivolous lesson was taught in the fabled “Footprints in the Sand” poem by Mary Stevenson. Many people have learned about God’s care and concern for them through that short, but powerful parable in the form of a poem.

For Jesus, there was a method to this perceived madness. Some people were not ready to hear the truth. and others were actively working against the truth. Using parables was the way that Jesus could teach them best. 

His method is an example to all of us as we teach God’s truth. For example, missionaries in a country which was closed to the Gospel learned to use the technique of Chronological Bible Storying in their missionary efforts. They were able to continue to teach after the local authorities were informed of their presence. These government officials did not feel threatened because, “They are just telling stories.”

Next, let’s see the message of the Teacher.

The Message of the Teacher: 

Mark 4:14-20 tells us:

The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.  And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

Jesus did many things in His ministry: He fed people and turned water into wine. He healed people and he revived the dead. He radically opposed the powers that oversaw Israel. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. Jesus did many things in His ministry, but He had one purpose, to “seek and save that which was lost” through spreading the Gospel message.

Churches and Christians also do many things in our ministry: Some churches are like a kicked-over ant hill, and we have devised all kinds of programs from sports to scrap-booking. Activity for its own sake is not ministry, however. Believers must focus what they do in the way Jesus did. Sadly, purpose, vision, mission, are often all missing. 

The lesson we must learn from the parable is to focus on teaching the Gospel. This is what Jesus did, and it was what Paul did in his ministry as well as told the church at Corinth, in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5:

And I, when I came to you, brothers, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Paul also taught,

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned but have not love, I gain nothing.

Therefore, as Paul taught us, we should imitate him as he imitated Jesus. As we do, we must be careful about what we are teaching. Are we teaching the little lab rat to grab the light? Or are we teaching it to press the lever and get food?

What I mean by that is, are we teaching lost people that we are nice people and that they should love us? Or are we teaching lost people that we are harsh, judgmental people whom they should avoid? 

Remember, people can misunderstand our mission. Our teaching must find a way you focus on God, not us. That means, if we aren’t teaching the Gospel, then all we are doing is just making noise and wasting time!

Finally, we see the majesty of the Teacher.

The Majesty of the Teacher: 

Mark 4:21-29 says:

And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Teaching is hard, unheralded work. Few teachers accrue any fame or glory. In fact, the glory in teaching is seeing the lives of your students changed. Teachers want to see that they are having an impact. They want to see growth occur. They want to see their students be able to do what they couldn’t do before.

Jesus wanted to see lives transformed by the Gospel, and He still does. He wants our lives to shine out lamps. He wants our lives to be open books for God. He wants us to be growing daily in the Gospel.

Are we instruments of transformation in our home? In our workplaces? In our churches? In our communities? If not, we should be and we should do this by teaching the Gospel because when the Gospel changes lives, it is a glorious thing! Paul described this effect in Philippians 4:1 saying 

“Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.”

Conclusion:

Jesus is the Master Teacher, but have we been diligent students? 

We need to dedicate ourselves to learning from Him, and if we do, we will have the abundant life He has promised!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about Controlling Creation on the Road to the Cross

Today I want to share a word about controlling creation on the road to the cross as I comment on Luke 5 and Matthew 8 and 14. Let’s begin by reading Luke 5:1-11. 

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Introduction:

Today, we will go sailing. We’re going to spend some time in boats today, and small boats at that.  As with many subjects, boats can cause people to have some strong emotions.  For example:

A man put an ad in an online dating site to try to meet a new girlfriend.  The ad said, “Looking for adventurous, out-doors oriented lady with boat and motor.  Send photo of boat and motor.” Of course, from the opposite perspective, one wife’s definition of a boat is “a hole in the water into which you pour money.”

All joking aside, one emotion that boats can cause is fear. This fear does not come from the boat itself, but from the way sailing is so dominated by the weather.  Even a minor storm can seem big in a small boat, and even the biggest ships are vulnerable to the overwhelming forces of nature. 

When the Great Lakes ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald was launched in 1958 it was the largest ship on the Great Lakes, and it remained so until 1971.  She weighed 13,632 tons empty and was 729 feet long.  Called “Big Fitz,” she regularly carried twice her own weight of iron ore to steel mills in the US.  She was so big and powerful she seemed to shrug off the forces of nature, that is, until November 1975. On the 9th day of that month, while bound for Detroit, MI with 26,000 tons of iron, Edmund Fitzgerald was overcome by a winter storm and disappeared with the loss of all 29 crew members.

If anyone has any doubts about the power of nature, they should go to the Mississippi gulf shore.  At the sea front they have a pole on which they have marked the height of the storm surge of the many large hurricanes that have come ashore there.  I had always heard about Hurricane Camille, and I was disappointed that the storm surge for that hurricane wasn’t marked, but I was wrong. Up near the top of the pole I finally spotted a mark that showed a wave of nearly thirty feet in height had crashed ashore there during that terrible storm.

The forces of nature are far beyond we mere mortals, but we will see today that they don’t even compare to the powers of Christ as He demonstrated the control of creation on the road to the Cross.

On the Road to the Cross Christ Controlled Creatures:

In our passage from Luke 5, we see Jesus as the Master of Creatures. 

No one likes it when people butt into their business. As the old saying goes, “Those of you who think they know it all really irritate those of us who do!” The truth is that some people think they know more than the experts. Just as often, these folks act on their “knowledge.” Usually when they do, disaster strikes. 

An example of this is a police department which took it upon themselves to install a temporary traffic light at an intersection without properly consulting traffic engineers. A fatal traffic accident was the result.

Jesus should not have known about fishing. Jesus was a trained carpenter and a religious teacher. This kind of fishing was not done by just anyone.

These fishermen were highly skilled and had long training. Catching fish with a net isn’t easy; it is an industrial process. Yet, Jesus did know more about these creatures than these expert fishermen did.

Jesus could control creatures because He is the Creator as we read in John 1:1-4:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Because Jesus is the Creator, we need to honor His knowledge.  We need to follow His instructions to have dominion over His world and to be good stewards of His world. If we violate His guidance we risk losing out on His abundance.

Next, let’s see how Christ controlled storms on the road to the Cross.

On the Road to the Cross Christ Controlled Storms:

Let’s continue by reading Matthew 8:23-27:

And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

In this passage we find our expert mariners and our supposedly landlubber carpenter on the Sea of Galilee, which was actually a very large lake. It was a lake, but that didn’t make it less dangerous. 

The terrain surrounding the Sea of Galilee is such that a funnel effect is created that causes very strong winds that can create severe storms, like the one which sank the Edmund Fitzgerald on another large lake. Though the dangers were real, the Sea of Galilee was key element in the economy and culture of northern Israel.  Without the Sea, it would not have been the same place.

The Sea of Galilee was a major transportation route, and Jesus and His disciples had sailed upon it to reach the other side, where Jesus had an appointment to meet with the Gadarene Demoniac, though the disciples did not know that yet. 

While on the way, a typical storm of great violence descended upon them. The disciples, who knew boats and the lake, were deathly afraid. Jesus, of course, was sleeping. Do you think Jesus didn’t know what was happening? Of course, He did, but He was not worried because He is the Creator of weather. 

When He was awakened, Jesus rebuked the Disciples for their fear. He then rebuked the wind and waves, and calm came over the sea. The disciples marveled the same way we marvel at a magician, but then being surprised by how simple the solution was, after it has been revealed to us.

In our next passage, we see Christ controlling physics on the road to the Cross.

On the Road to the Cross Christ Controlled Physics:

For experienced fishermen, it seems that the disciples had a tendency to get caught at sea in severe storms. The next time this happened, in Matthew 14:24-33, we learn that Jesus was the Master of Physics:

. . . but the boat by this time was a long way from the land beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night[d] he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”  And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

God created our world, and He designed it to run in certain ways:

• He created the laws of biology. 
• He created the laws of chemistry. 
• He created the laws of oceanography.
• He created the laws of physics. 

Our belief in an intelligent creator prompted us to systematically study nature, because if there was a design behind the creation, we could discover it and discover how creation works. Even though some scientists now often seem to despise our faith, in truth, science came out of our faith!

God’s design was perfect, and it was only marred by human sin. The Laws of Physics are immutable for humans. They work the same way every time. We can use them for our own purposes, but we can’t alter them.  When we use the laws of physics properly, we can do wonderful things, like fly an airplane. When you do violate the laws of physics you pay the price. 

People often perpetuate the myth that bumble bees violate the laws of physics.  Nothing that flies can violate the laws of physics; however, if you jump off a building with an open umbrella you will violate them, and the results will be painful!

Jesus showed us in these verses that He is the Creator of physics. A man cannot walk on water, but Jesus could. And not only could Jesus walk on water, but He could also empower Peter to do so as well!

Jesus controlled creation on the road to the Cross in many different ways. These were historical events, and they did, in fact, occur. So, what does that mean for us today? It means Christ is in control of everything that can cause us fear.

As We Walk our Road Today Christ can Control our Fears: 

Because human sin has marred God’s perfect creation, the world is a dangerous place. This causes people to experience fear. 

People are often afraid of four-footed creatures, like the young lady who, when she was a child, had been knocked down by a dog who stole her graham cracker. Years later she ran away from a German Shepherd only to fall and hurt herself. 

People are also afraid of two-footed creatures, like the mother who would always call her daughter when a convict had escaped, or if the local police were looking for a fugitive. 

Jesus, of course, showed He can control creatures, and we need to give Him control of our fears about creatures as well.

People are often afraid of storms, too. Storms are violent and can cause destruction and death. I know a family whose home was once hit by lightning and caught fire. They never left their house totally empty again. Someone was always at home just in case lightning might strike in the same place twice.  Jesus, of course, showed He can control storms, and we need to give Him control of our fears about storms as well.

People also have what is called on social media FOMO or Fear of Missing Out. Like children who don’t want to nap to go to bed at night because they are afraid that they are going to miss out on something:

• We often think that God’s way is not the best way.
• We try to find ways around the rules of creation. 
• We try to find pleasure in ways God didn’t intend.
• We try to find power in ways that God didn’t intend.
• We rebel against His plan and when we do it costs us.

Jesus amply demonstrated His control of creation, and He needs to be in control of our lives as well. We need to seek His abundant life, not our false abundance.

Conclusion:

Jesus is the Creator. He created nature for our blessing, and He uses everything He created for our good. As Romans 8:28 reminds us,

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

The way we are most blessed is by allowing Him to be in control of our lives, too! He has called us, but have we answered? Have we yielded our lives to Him today? Or are we still trying to control our own lives? Surrender to Him today!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about leading on the Road to the Cross

 

Today I want to share a word about leading on the road to the cross as I comment on John 1:35-51.

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.  One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus^[k] was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).  He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”  Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Introduction:

We are continuing to walk the road to the cross with Jesus and today we come to the point in time in which Jesus called to Him twelve disciples to learn from Him and to carry on His work. In calling these twelve men, Jesus proved himself to be a master of leadership.  Last time we saw that Jesus did all things well, and this included exercising the skill of leadership, which is our focus today.

I have been a student of leadership all my adult life and I still have a lot to learn.  I have held numerous leadership positions and yet I know that I am not a master leader in the way Jesus is.  For example, When I was line officer before I became a chaplain, I served as a company commander in the Louisiana Army National Guard. One day, some of my full-time staff put up a plaque in my little office to honor my efforts.  It said:

I am their leader!  Which way did they go?

Leadership is a craft; it is not a pure science, and yet it is not done just for the sake of the art.  It is a very practical skill, yet one that is not easy to define.  To paraphrase an old statement about art: “I can’t tell you what I like, but I know it when I see it!” Today we will see the master of leadership demonstrating His craft.  We need to watch Him and learn.

As He Exercised Leadership, Jesus was Compelling:

As we can see from our focal passage, Jesus was a compelling personality. He knew that leadership is different than command.

Command is defined by the legal authority to compel compliance. That’s why the Uniform Code of Military Justice allows commanders to punish troops who don’t comply with their orders. Leadership is different.

Leadership is the ability to inspire the willing cooperation of those being led. As leadership expert John Maxwell said, “If you look back and no one is following you, you are not a leader.” Jesus was a leader because people followed him willingly, including:

·      People who were already seeking God (Simon and Andrew).

·      People who were sinners & outcasts (Matthew and the sinful woman).

·      People who were struggling to make ends meet (Fishermen).

·      People in the establishment (Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea).

This is a rare gift, and we must take full advantage of its power in our society. Every church, every organization, every community, has members that people look up to. Influence like this can cause good to happen, bad to happen or nothing to happen!

Jesus said that good things and bad things cannot come from the same source, so leaders must be wise stewards of their gift!

As He Exercised Leadership, Jesus had a Moral Character:

John 2:13-22 tells us more about the Master Leader.

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there.  And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?”  Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

People invest their trust in their leaders. They believe them and do what they say. They trust them with important parts of their lives. They expect them to take due care of this devotion. Like when a person entrusts a financial advisor to wisely invest their life savings, people invest their trust in their leaders. Therefore, leaders must be trustworthy.

In the case of Jesus, we can see from this passage that He embodied righteousness.  He could not abide injustice, or pride, or arrogance, and He revealed this when He cleansed the temple. He also showed this when He forgave the sin of those repentant persons who came to Him. He was as comfortable Proclaiming the woes on the Pharisees as He was in healing the ear of the high priest’s servant on the night He was betrayed. Jesus embodied righteousness and that righteousness infused His exercise of leadership.

We must insist that our leaders must be of the highest moral character. Too often we shoot ourselves in the foot by focusing on gifting and job performance but ignoring the issues of maturity, judgment, and morality. Leaders must be sure to guard their hearts, minds, and passions, because the damage leaders do when they fail morally is beyond measure!      

As He Exercised Leadership, Jesus was Courageous:

Luke 5:18-32 shows us that the Master Leader was courageous.

On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? ²⁴ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.” After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” 

Leaders, being out in front of the group, are exposed and that makes them vulnerable. They often see things others don’t, and they often take stands others don’t like. This makes them easy targets for criticism.

Jesus was the model of courage. He did the right thing, all the time, even if people misunderstood. Here, He forgave the man’s sin, and He did not just heal him. Then, He called Matthew, even though he was a hated and despised tax collector. He even had supper at Matthew’s home!

Some so-called leaders practice a form of lowest-common-denominator leadership which is highly influenced or even dominated by public opinion. While this is not really leadership at all, it is very common among politicians and other civic leaders. Opinion polls drive US politics far more than convictions do, but Jesus was the epitome of leadership, and He was not dissuaded by uninformed public opinion from doing what was right.

Assuming risk is inherent in the process of leading. We must not be afraid to lead if called to do so. A turtle gets nowhere unless it sticks out its neck so we must trust God and enjoy His love. As 1 John 4:18 reminds us, “Perfect love casts out all fear.” God’s love is perfect, even if ours is not!

As He Exercised Leadership, Jesus was Committed:

Luke 9:57-62 shows the commitment that leadership requires:

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”  Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”  Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” 

A leader does what it takes to accomplish the mission. Jesus, of course, was the inventor of the phrase, “going the extra mile” and He did that and more Himself.

Leadership is about helping people overcome obstacles. It is about also achieving your goal, while also taking care of people. One of my favorite leadership sayings encapsulates this concept:

Mission first! People always!

One of our biggest needs is for balance in our lives and in our work and our leadership. Airplanes have 2 wings for a reason. They need both wings to be able to fly straight and true.

When I was a young boy, and I would get upset about something, my mom would always tell me to straighten up and fly right. The fact, is, however, that you can't fly straight, and you can't fly right if you are out of balance and this idea of “Mission First, People Always” gives us the balance that we need in our lives and our leadership.

This motto begins by reminding us that we have a mission to accomplish. If we don't accomplish this mission, then we have no reason to exist. We have a purpose, and we need to carry out that purpose.

Although we must put mission first, we must also understand that we cannot accomplish that mission without people. We cannot do our job without our people. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to always take care of our people. And not only our people at work but our people at home, in our communities, in our churches, and our schools. Taking care of people is essential so that we can accomplish our mission. It is also essential because it is the right thing to do.

Let me put it this way, if we just focus on our mission then we become bureaucrats. If we just focus on people, we become politicians. We must have both wings to fly the airplane of leadership straight.

Jesus did what needed to be done to achieve His mission and to take care of people:

·      He turned water into wine and saved the wedding at Cana.

·      He healed the sick and He revived the dead.

·      He taught in parables, and He fed the 5,000.

·      He put up with 12 whiny disciples.

·      He died on the cross for our sins and He rose again to defeat death and hell, 

Our leaders must be committed as well. We must take responsibility because the saying “Everybody’s job is nobody’s job” is a reality.

We must follow the command of God from Paul in Galatians 6:9 that says. “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

As He Exercised Leadership, Jesus was Highly Competent:

Finally, Luke 5:1-9 reveals to us that Jesus was highly competent.

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, ^and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Since followers place at least a portion of their lives in the hands of their leaders, leaders must be competent for their followers to trust them.  They must be able to accomplish the tasks they set forth. What if there were no fish in that net? Would the disciples have followed Jesus? If leaders are not competent, they may be liked, but they will not be followed.

To show their competence, leaders must lead by example, unlike the church pastor who hid in the church basement when teams went out to visit prospects.

 Also, to be competent takes work. We do not learn how to lead by osmosis, so we must study and train. We also must try our wings and learn from our mistakes.

Conclusion:

As the master of leader, Jesus set the standard for those who lead. Jesus was (and still is):

·      Compelling

·      Courageous

·      Committed

·      Competent,

·      Of the highest moral Character

He taught His disciples to be leaders, who became models for Christians to follow down through the ages. As Paul instructed the church at Corinth:

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

Paul’s statement was a bold one. If was based on his understanding of Christ’s character, and it was empowered by the work of the Holy Spirit in his life. We may never be so bold as to ask people to imitate us, but we do need to follow Paul example as he followed Christ.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about doing All Things Well on the Road to the Cross

 

Today I want to share a word about doing all things wells on the road to the cross as I comment on Mark 7:24-37. 

And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden.  But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet.  Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.”  But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.”  And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.”  And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone. Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.  And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.  And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue.  And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”  And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.  And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Introduction:

Churches often send questionnaires to potential staff members. Along with logical questions about a personal testimony and doctrinal beliefs, some of the questions can seem a little strange at times. One pair of questions I once saw asked in succession: How would you describe yourself? How would your peers describe you?

Now, the first question in that pair was very logical but I am not too sure about the second! The pastor who received that questionnaire answered it: “I hope my peers would agree with my description of myself, but I think you will have to ask them!”

It would be fascinating, though quite possibly embarrassing, for us to know what our peers actually think of us. We do know, however, what the people who walked with Jesus thought of Him: "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

Wow, would to God everyone who looked into our lives would say, “He has done everything well!” Let’s unpack how Jesus did all things well.

First, Jesus Demonstrated the Power of God:

We have all seen people who thought they could do things but who simply could not do them. For example:

During a nationally televised news conference, a government agency provided a sign language interpreter. This man energetically made motions with his hands and with his facial expressions, and to those who didn’t know sign language, nothing seemed amiss. In the middle of the conference, however, another official came up and physically removed him so another person could take his place. In turned out that he was not trained in sign language, but he thought he could do it anyway. Everyone involved was highly embarrassed.

On the other hand, we have all seen people who could do things, and they did them well. For example:

One of my favorite childhood memories was the day my dad took me with him to have new tires installed on our car. He knew the tire shop owner, so we could stand inside the bay while they removed the old tires and mounted the new ones. I was fascinated! The men doing the work had done this countless times before. They knew exactly how to use the tire mounting machine without a single wasted motion. The best way I can describe it is as an industrial ballet. I was amazed!

From the beginning of time, our world has produced false prophets, false teachers, and snake oil salesmen, who either think that they can do things, and can’t, or who know that they can’t do them and seek to deceive people. We find an example of this in Acts 19:11-20,  

And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

As Jesus walked the earth, He was the embodiment of the power of God. The things that Jesus did were amazing to the people who observed His acts, but in truth, that’s just how God rolls! 

When we see the power of God being exercised in our lives, we call them miracles. In heaven, they call that Tuesday.

Next, Jesus Displayed the Mission of God:

The thing I have come to understand, is that the definition of “doing all things well,” can differ, depending upon who you may be talking to. 

As one pastor who moved from a large city to a rural area once told me, “When I was in [the big city], if a church held a community outreach event it had to be absolutely excellent. If it wasn’t done to a very high standard, people had many other churches to choose from, and they would just go down the road to the next offering. Here, people are not as concerned about how well you do an event as much as they see that you care enough to do the event.” This is like the catchphrase, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

Timothy Keller learned this when he moved from being a successful pastor of a rural church in Pennsylvania to start the Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. He said that in Pennsylvania, he had to be a good pastor first, before his congregation would allow him to be an effective preacher. In New York, Keller had to be an effective preacher before his congregation would allow him to become their pastor.

So, what about Jesus? Why did He seem to be “hiding His light under a basket?”

Simply this, Jesus did not come to heal people. He came to seek and save the lost souls of this world. Paul described this mission this way in Romans 1:16-17,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Jesus, being God, was and is perfect, and He perfectly pursued the mission that he was sent to accomplish. And what was this mission? What was His priority? We can see it in the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10,

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

He had a mission to accomplish, but that did not prevent Him from being kind and loving to those who did not understand that mission. In truth, no one alive at that time understood His mission, and so Jesus had to be patient with all kinds of people, Jews and Gentiles, His disciples and His critics, those seeking salvation as well as those seeking miracles.

Next, Jesus Distributed the Gifts of God:

So, what about us? Are we capable of doing all things well? The short answer is: No!

The Book of Judges demonstrated conclusively that people are incapable of doing all things well because of our addiction to sin. Judges details this cycle of addiction:

• The Children of Israel fell into sin, and they suffered because of it.
• The Children of Israel called upon God, and He sent a judge to deliver them from their sin.
• The Children of Israel praised and worshiped God, but then they forgot what He had done for them.
• The Children of Israel fell into sin, and they suffered because of it.

Yet, Paul taught in Colossians 3:23-24,

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

If we are to work as for the Lord, He will expect us to meet His standards. He did all things well; how can we be expected to do that? Simply by this: Jesus distributed God’s gifts to us.

We know that Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit. In John 14:15-19 He taught us,

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.”

We also know that the Holy Spirit sends us gifts as Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11,

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

So, what do we see here? 

• Everyone in Christ has been given gifts by the Holy Spirit
• These gifts give us abilities that we naturally do not have
• There are many different gifts, but all gifts are important and are needed by the church
• Those abilities help us do things well for the Kingdom of God
• We need to use them to advance the ministry of the church

To know more about these gifts of the Spirit, we only need to look at a few passages of Scripture: Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4 and 1 Peter 4. That last passage summarizes the situation succinctly but effectively:

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus does all things well, even to the extent of helping us do things well for the sake of the Gospel and the Kingdom of God

Conclusion:

We should live our lives so that people will say that we do all things well as we serve God. 

It is a difficult balancing act to pursue a mission, while at the same time relating to people who don’t understand your mission, but Jesus did it, and, since He sent us the Holy Spirit to empower our ministry, we can, too. 

As the advertising slogan goes, “If it were easy, anyone could do it.” Seek the help of the Holy Spirit, and while it will probably never be easy, it can be done!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about Resisting Temptation on the Road to the Cross

Today I want to share a word about resisting temptation on the road to the cross as I comment on Matthew 4:1-11. 

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Introduction:

Temptation is something we all face, and we usually face it daily.  Temptation is so common that we use it to sell products. Remember the potato chip commercial that says “You can’t eat just one!”

We even use temptation to market our entertainment acts.  One example of this is the singing group “The Temptations.”

The 100th Anniversary of the National Football League provided us a humorous example of temptation. In the commercial promoting that milestone, a large, multi-layer cake with a football as its crown was set in the center of a banquet room full of professional football legends. As the commissioner began making introductions, Marshawn Lynch began eyeing the cake. He reached out for a taste, and the football on top tumbled to the floor. Another famous player, Mike Singletary, saw the ball, pulled off his glasses, shouted “Fumble!” and dived for the recovery. Chaos ensued!

While we can use temptation to sell products, and while we can make light of it, the truth is that temptation is a serious problem that we all face.  The very fact that we resort to it so much for our own purposes shows us that temptation is powerful and that we often fall prey to it. 

We are tempted to sin in many ways, and none of us in our own power can resist temptation.  There is Someone who can resist temptation, however and we will see Him doing that today. He will show us the way out of temptation and if we follow Him and His example, we will be able ourselves to resist more effectively.

The Identity of the Tempter:

Everything except God has an origin and we know that good things come from God. Jesus said that good and bad cannot come from the same source. God can no more do an evil thing than can the shade of black become white. It will never happen. Evil also has an origin; it originated with Satan, and so did temptation. Knowing where temptation comes from helps us learn its purpose.

Satan was Lucifer; He was the beautiful “Day Star” of Heaven. He was the archangel, the most privileged servant of God who played beautiful music to glorify God. Sadly, for all concerned, he became proud and so he rebelled against God. Because of this he was banished from heaven as we read in Isaiah 14:12-15,

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

We often give Satan too much credit. We imagine him to have the powers of our God, only evil. The Star Trek TV series popularized the idea that both matter and anti-matter exist, and that they are equal but opposite in their power and orientation. We see God and Satan in the same way, but this is not true. 

Satan has the powers of an angel, but he is not God. He is not omniscient, omnipotent, nor omnipresent. He was cast out of heaven, and James tells us that he, like all the demons, trembles at God’s power. 

 Like many defeated people, in his bitterness and anger, Satan wants to cause pain. Satan’s response to God’s discipline of him was to become bitter and he wants to take his revenge against God and to hurt Him. He wants to hurt God through turning God's highest creation, humankind, away from Him. So how can he do that?

In John 8:44, Jesus described Satan’s character this way,

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

2 Corinthians 11:14, Paul revealed that, 

. . . Satan disguises himself as an angel of light

So, Satan’s main tool for this desperate and dastardly plot is deception and his main tactic is not control or possession, but temptation. This is why the Bible calls him a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He is a roaring lion because he is defeated and toothless, and he’s trying to scare people into siding with him against God. Like many dogs, his bark is worse than his bite; but he can entice or scare God's people into sin, and then he can hurt God. And that's his real intent!

The Opportunity for the Tempter:

Why did Satan decide to tempt Jesus at this time? Was it because Jesus was in a weakened situation? Was he kicking someone when they were down? No!

In fact, Jesus was in a spiritually strong condition. He had just been baptized and heard His Father’s approval. He was completing a fast and the purpose of a fast is to grow closer to God. Jesus may have been closer to God later in His life and ministry, but I would argue that He had never yet been so close to God as when He was in the midst of this fast.

We need to see what Jesus taught about fasting, in Matthew 6 during the Sermon on the Mount:

When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Fasting is tough, physically, but it is revitalizing, spiritually!

Satan likes to try to play hardball because he wants to be just like God. He wants to show his power and all through the Bible he attacks people during or after spiritual highs.

Adam and Eve in the garden

Noah after the flood

David after the covenant from God

Elijah after Mount Carmel

Paul and Silas during a powerful ministry in Philippi

And Jesus after His baptism and affirmation of God from Heaven.

So, we need to be aware of this trend, this tactic. When things are going well, we need to guard our hearts. Satan wants to score as many points as possible by knocking off a successful person, family, or church.

The Methods of the Tempter:

From this passage we can see some of the techniques that Satan uses. These are probably not inclusive of all his wiles, but they do seem to attack three basic motivations in our lives.

First, we see that Satan appeals to the flesh.  I call this the "Temptation to Greed."

We live in a world that is fascinated by physical possessions. As one pastor friend put it, "People try to get all that they can, put it in a can, put a lid on the can, and then sit on the lid!"

This temptation makes our flesh our God and it denies that God is sufficient to care for our physical needs. We need to remember what Jesus taught about possessions in Matthew 6 in the Sermon on the Mount:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

People think that owning things will fill the God-shaped hole in our hearts. In truth, not only does having possessions not satisfy us, they actually become a burden!

Next, we see that Satan appeals to our vanity. I call this the "Temptation to Gaudiness."

People have always seemed to crave fame and notoriety, and this especially is true today when we create stars of people who have never achieved anything but a mastery of manipulating social media. People want to be known, they just don't want to put in the effort to be known for something they have actually accomplished! 

In contrast to this, Proverbs 22:29 tells us,

Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Again, we need to remember what Jesus taught in Matthew 20:25-27,

But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Finally, we see that Satan appeals to our spirit of rebellion. I call this the "Temptation of Glory."

We, like Satan, want to think we are "large and in charge," but there is only one Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent God of the universe. When Frank Sinatra sang about doing things "my way" he was singing the theme song of this temptation, the temptation to place ourselves on the throne of our life and not Almighty God.

When we are tempted to forge our own path, and do things our own way instead of God’s way, we need to remember what Samuel told King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:23, 

For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.

To see this principle from a positive perspective, we should pay attention to what Jesus said in John 14:15-16,

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Again, Satan may use many other techniques than the ones he tried with Jesus, and we must stay on the alert for his manipulations and deceptions. Satan is the chief of liars, and we can never trust him!

The Defeat of the Tempter:

Satan tried to play hardball with Jesus. He was going head-to-head, and hand-to-hand with God, and while he is powerful, his strength pales in comparison with God's. In fact, the contest wasn't even close. Jesus brushed away Satan with little effort, the way we might brush away a fly or a piece of lint on our jacket.

The reasons for this are simple: Satan brought a knife to a gunfight. Jesus had access to the power of God and the Word of God. Because He was committed to serving God, He used these assets to overwhelm the attempts of Satan to defeat Him.

• The results of this contest present us with some important lessons: 
• Jesus had a relationship with His Father from His childhood.
• Jesus’ relationship with His Father continued into adulthood.
• Jesus’ relationship with His Father was fresh and renewed.
• Jesus made wise use of God’s Word in defeating Satan.
• We can take advantage of these principles as well and if we do, we too can have victory. 

Consider what Paul taught us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, which says, 

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

We need to remember, that while Satan is a cruel liar, God showed His true nature in that passage of Scripture and in Matthew 4, because He nurtures us and cares for us, and He gives us help to escape the tempter.

We, too, have access to the power of God. We, too, have access to the Word of God. If we, too, are committed to serving God, we can use these assets to overwhelm the attempts of Satan to defeat us.

Conclusion:

In our text for today, we have seen how Jesus took Satan's best shot and walked away unscathed. 

Like we saw recently, Jesus is our model. Not only did He model Baptism for us, He also modeled how we can resist temptation. As Paul urged us in Ephesians 6:11-13,

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

If we turn to Jesus in times of testing, He will help us and, like Him, we can be victorious.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt