A Word abut Keeping Up with the Joneses

 

Today I want to share a word about keeping up with the Joneses as I comment on Judges 21:25 and 1 Samuel 8.

As we began our study of the kings of Israel and Judah we found Israel in the Land of Canaan, possessing their inheritance, albeit incompletely. Living in their midst were other nations, and the Israelites began to see “how the other half lived,” and they got jealous of them.

In our culture, we call what Israel began to do “keeping up with the Joneses.”  You know what that’s like. Your neighbor buys a new car, and you feel the need to buy a Sports Utility Vehicle. Your neighbor digs a swimming pool, therefore you install a hot tub.  Your neighbor sends their kids to play soccer, so you send yours to play softball. 

I once knew a wife who was so caught up in this way of life that when her husband had a heart attack and a triple by-pass, she also had a heart attack and a quadruple by-pass before he was out of the Intensive Care Unit. They were both in the same hospital at the same time for the same surgery. She actually had more by-passes performed on her than he did! 

Israel saw that the people in the land had something they didn’t, and they wanted it.  Let’s see the consequences of this today as we read God’s Word.

Let’s begin by reading Judges 21:25,

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever seemed right to him. 

Israel Lost Its Purpose:

Israel was founded, literally, with a mission from God. They were to be a blessing to the world. They were to be the way of salvation for the world. They were to be the tool of God to overcome the devastation that Satan had wreaked upon the world.

Every tool has a purpose, but if it used wrongly it can break, hurt someone, or damage the material it is used on. A flat bladed screwdriver can be used as a chisel, but it shouldn’t be. Likewise, pliers can be used to tighten or loosen a bolt, but a socket wrench does the job more effectively. And, a socket wrench can be used as an impromptu hammer, but it also can break when it’s used that way. Ask me how I know!

Sadly, Israel lost sight of their mission. They had received their inheritance. They no longer had to wander the wilderness. They were no longer at war, at least temporarily. They became complacent, and they did what they wanted, when they wanted to do it. They became “fat, dumb, and happy.” This is a dangerous and unhealthy condition.

We need to remember, however, that the church also has a mission. We are to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and might. We are to love our fellow men and women. We are to make disciples of all nations, because we are supposed to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.

To avoid making the same mistake as Israel did, the church must remember its purpose and its mission. We must remind ourselves and our children of it constantly, because the saying, “out of sight, out of mind,” too often is a true one!

Israel Lost Its Focus:

Let’s read 1 Samuel 8:1-6,

When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. His firstborn son’s name was Joel and his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beer-sheba. However, his sons did not walk in his ways—they turned toward dishonest profit, took bribes, and perverted justice. So all the elders of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.” When they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand wrong, so he prayed to the Lord.

What should have Israel’s focus been? The same focus we should have. Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” In 1 Corinthians 10:31, Paul taught, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” Both Israel and the church were created to glorify God and both Israel and the church were created to serve God.

If we have this Biblical focus, it will change how we see our lives and the world around us. For example, the noted Baptist author and seminary ethics professor Tony Campolo once commented, “Parents should want their children to be good, not happy.” 

When people lose their focus, they lose their way. They begin to wonder what others think of them. They begin to notice what others do, and what they have. They begin to focus on the minors instead of majoring on the vital things of life. Remember, Peter could walk on the water when his focus was on Jesus, but when he got distracted by the wind and waves, he sank.

When Israel lost their focus, trouble happened, and they began to sink. Their leaders became materialistic and corrupt. The first eight chapters of 1 Samuel, records that the children of Samuel, as well as the children of Eli who preceded him, were corrupt, and they used their positions for their own gain. It is often true even today that pastors are not fired for incompetence, but for lack of character. As one Christian leader has noted, for some pastors, their talents and skills grow faster and larger than their maturity and morality do.

Also, as God’s people lost their focus on Him, they begin to follow the ways of the world. According to a survey by George Barna, moral opinions for church members today are not much different than the rest of society

Finally, as God’s people lost their focus on Him, they began to focus on serving themselves, and they failed to serve God. When that happened, so did trouble and tribulation occur.  For example, in 1 Samuel 4, not only were the Israelites defeated twice by the Philistines, but they also allowed the Ark of the Covenant to be captured by their enemies who did not know or worship God.

When we focus on the world, and not God, we put ourselves at the brink of disaster, defeat, and disintegration.

Israel Got What They Wanted:

Let’s read 1 Samuel 8:7-18,

But the Lord told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king. They are doing the same thing to you that they have done to me, since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, abandoning me and worshiping other gods. Listen to them but solemnly warn them and tell them about the customary rights of the king who will reign over them.” Samuel told all the Lord’s words to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “These are the rights of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and put them to his use in his chariots, on his horses, or running in front of his chariots. He can appoint them for his use as commanders of thousands or commanders of fifties, to plow his ground and reap his harvest, or to make his weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots. He can take your daughters to become perfumers, cooks, and bakers. He can take your best fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He can take a tenth of your grain and your vineyards and give them to his officials and servants. He can take your male servants, your female servants, your best cattle, and your donkeys and use them for his work. He can take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves can become his servants. When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you’ve chosen for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you on that day.”

God warned Israel that they didn’t really want what they asked for. The king would tax them. The king would draft their sons to be soldiers. The king would take their daughters to be his servants. The king would take their freedom from them. As Leonard Nimoy’s character Spock once said in an episode of the original Star Trek television series, “After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true.” 

God’s warning did not dissuade Israel from what they wanted. Let’s read 1 Samuel 8:19-22,

The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us. Then we’ll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles.”  Samuel listened to all the people’s words and then repeated them to the Lord. “Listen to them,” the Lord told Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.” Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Each of you, go back to your city.”

In the end, Israel got what they wanted, but this was a bad move on the part of God’s people. The kings of Israel, and (later) Judah, were uniformly bad. A cursory examination of the first three kings will illustrate this point. Saul lost his mind.  David was an adulterer and murderer. Solomon took a thousand wives and concubines, including women that the Bible says turned away his heart from God. In the end, Israel suffered tremendously because of this ill-considered and unwise decision.

A corollary of the Spock quote is a common saying, “Be careful what you ask for, because you might get it.” Israel found out the truth of this saying. We must ask ourselves today this question, “Upon what are we focused in our lives and in our families?” Success? Power? Possessions? Leisure? Control?  We must be careful what we ask for, because we might get it, and also the consequences that attend it.

Israel Got Replaced:

Israel was to be God’s instrument of His Salvation. Instead, they became just like the people needing to be saved. They lost their mission.  They lost their focus. They lost their relationship with God as the King of His people. They were no longer of any use to God in pursuing His mission for them. What Jesus said in Matthew 5:13 describes their situation, 

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty?  It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

Although Israel had abandoned their original mission, God gave them another one. They now served as the pathway for their replacement. Instead of being an agent of salvation, they were destined to be the platform from which that Agent (Jesus) would come. Isaiah 40:3 says that, like John the Baptist, Israel was to be, 

A voice of one crying out: “Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.”

Even more telling, Israel herself would need to be saved. Instead of being the means of salvation, they, themselves, needed saving. Instead of being part of the solution to sin, they became part of the problem of sin. Paul, in Romans 11:25-27, says. 

I don’t want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you will not be conceited: A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.

Whether we are on board or not, God’s purposes will be achieved. The only question is whether we will get the blessing of being “On Mission With God” or if we are going to need rescuing ourselves.

Conclusion:

A small, weather beaten lifeboat station once stood on a dangerous stretch of coastline where shipwrecks were common. It wasn’t much to look at — just a hut, a few worn boats, and a handful of volunteers who kept watch day and night. They had one purpose: rescue the perishing.

Whenever a ship went down, the crew rushed out into the storm. They saved lives. They pulled half drowned sailors from the waves. The station became famous for its courage.

Over time, people who had been rescued — grateful, successful, influential people — began donating money. The station was remodeled. The rough cots were replaced with comfortable beds. The leaky boats were upgraded. A beautiful lounge was added so members could gather and socialize. Little by little, the focus shifted.

The rescue crew became less interested in braving storms. They preferred staying inside the warm building. They held meetings, planned banquets, and enjoyed fellowship. Eventually, they hired professional crews to do the actual rescue work — though those crews rarely went out because storms were dangerous and rescues were messy.

One day, a massive shipwreck occurred. The hired crew refused to launch. So, a few of the remaining volunteers tried to help, but they were told not to bring wet, cold, injured people into the new building because it would ruin the furniture and disrupt the social events. The rescued were sent elsewhere.

Eventually, the lifeboat station stopped doing rescues altogether. It became a social club with maritime decorations and a plaque on the wall commemorating its heroic past. Meanwhile, shipwrecks continued on the same coastline. People still drowned within sight of the building that had once been their only hope.

Have we lost our purpose?  Have we lost our focus? Are we part of the solution for sin, or are we becoming part of the problem? Are we in danger of being replaced by God?

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about Addiction to Sin

Today I want to share a word about addiction to sin as I comment on Judges 2:8-23.

Royal Pains was the name of a television show that aired on the USA Network for eight seasons beginning in 2009. It was a comedy-drama series that highlighted the travails of a doctor with a concierge practice who made house calls on the rich and famous in The Hamptons area of Long Island, New York. The name of the series was a foreshadowing of the problematic, pampered, and petulant patients the physician dealt with over the course of the program. 

During this series of sermons, we will find that the kings of Israel and Judah were just as problematic for the Children of Israel. The difference is, however, the television show’s patients were as fictional as their doctor, but the kings of Israel and Judah were very human and very real, as were the problems that they caused for God and His people. 

Before we get to the actual kings of Israel and Judah, we must discover how they came to be, and the story begins after the Children of Israel entered into the Promised Land, and after they had possessed most, but not all of it.  That was when they discovered they had a serious problem.  In fact, it was an addiction.

Addictions are real and they have beset humanity from the time that Noah planted a vineyard and got drunk.  Once an addiction sets in, it is difficult to break. I once knew a petite mother of twins who was as straight an arrow as you might ever see.  Her morals were righteous to the point of being a prude.  You can’t imagine how shocked I was to find out that she smoked cigarettes.  She told me that she hadn’t smoked until she was about 40 years old. One day, while she was sitting with her dying mother in the local hospital, she saw a pack of cigarettes that had been left by another relative.  She was very stressed, and for some reason she took a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep pull.  From that point she was absolutely hooked!

I also knew a man who was an alcohol and drug abuse counselor.  Like many in that line of work, he was a recovering alcoholic.  This man was a retired Navy helicopter pilot whose last assignment was to teach new pilots how to fly helicopters.  He told me that he had become so dependent upon alcohol that before he could shave in the morning, he would have to drink a water glass full of vodka to steady his hand or he’d almost cut his throat.  He’d probably drink another glass for his breakfast before going out to the airfield to teach.  About midmorning he’d have to find an excuse to land and go back to his quarters for another glass.

People can be addicted to things besides substances.  For example, many women who are abused by their husbands will leave, but then go back to them time and time again, often until they are killed or seriously injured. They become addicted to the relationship, even though it is an abusive one.

One of the key indicators of an addiction is a pattern of trying to turn over a new leaf but falling back into destructive behavior. Often, people with addictions will try to make up with the people they have hurt by saying things like, “I really mean it this time.  It’s going to be different, I promise!”   Unfortunately, they relapse time and again.

Israel was addicted to something too.  They were addicted to sin. Let’s begin by reading Judges 2:8-13,

Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works he had done for Israel. The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. They worshiped the Baals and abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed other gods from the surrounding peoples and bowed down to them. They angered the Lord, for they abandoned him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.

Israel Fell into Sin:

Sin is common to people. In fact, the Scriptures not only bear witness to this, but they also go farther and assert that sin is universal among people. Romans 3:10 says, “There is none righteous, no not one.” Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” 1 John 1:8 teaches that, “If we say we do not have sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” If the God of this universe tells us that sin is endemic in the human race, we probably should pay attention. 

However, if we don’t trust God, other evidence of human sin exists as well. The daily news media that we read, hear, and watch produce report after report of how people mistreat one another, and how people lie, cheat, and steal. Stories of political corruption are so common, people hardly pay attention to them anymore. Famed comedienne Carol Burnett once commented about how she was shocked that people are not shocked anymore.

While we may not be shocked, our hearts do bear witness to our sin. Guilt is nearly as universal as sin, even if it is possible for us to feel guilty about things we did not do. A few people in our society are true sociopaths who feel no guilt, but almost all of us know in our hearts that we are not pure and that we are imperfect, frail, and limited, and that we are hapless, helpless, and hopeless, when it comes to defeating sin in our lives.

In truth, sin, like addictions, can be resisted for a season. We can follow our conscience for a time. We can follow the Bible for a time. We can follow a Godly leader for a time. Then, however, we stop meditating on God’s Word, our consciences become seared and unfeeling, and our leaders fall, or fail, or pass away. Moses and Joshua were strong leaders, and while they lived, they helped the Children of Israel avoid many sinful traps, but they were now gone. God’s Word remained, but someone must point to it!

Few human institutions last for long. The average family business will last for a generation and a half, and only really thrive for a portion of that time. Even large, multinational corporations wax and wane, as do the nations of the world.  Our sin and human frailty will always win out over natural humanity. Jesus said that, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Sin is an addiction that we can’t resist; no matter how long we fight it, we will fall sooner or later. Proverbs 26:11 graphically describes this human predicament, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so also a fool repeats his foolishness.” Biblical Israel is a prime example of this!

Israel Suffered the Consequences of Sin:

Let’s read Judges 2:14-15,

The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he handed them over to marauders who raided them. He sold them to the enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies. Whenever the Israelites went out, the Lord was against them and brought disaster on them, just as he had promised and sworn to them. So they suffered greatly.

The Israelites learned a hard lesson: there are no good results from sin. The Bible tells us that sin separates us from God and the natural world as well. Romans 6:23 says that. “The wages of sin is death . . .” Sin brings physical and spiritual death, and it brings separation from people also. Sin promises joy, but it only produces sorrow. Going off God’s script for our lives has consequences.

We need to pay close attention to what happened when Israel went off script. They left heathens in the land that could, and did, attack them. They were plundered, spoiled, and unable to defend themselves. They had estranged themselves from God and so did not have His help to which to turn. They were like an atheist at a funeral. To whom can they turn for nurture and encouragement?

The saying that “the bigger they are, the harder they fall,” applied to God’s children during this time. God had won all their battles for them during the Exodus, and so the people of Canaan were terrified of the Jews. Of course, it was God’s power the Canaanites actually feared, but now God’s people had turned their back on Him and they no longer had access to His might and power. The Song of Debrorah in Judges 5 illustrates how low Israel had sunk. In verses 6-7 we see,

In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the main roads were deserted because travelers kept to the side roads. Villages were deserted, they were deserted in Israel, until I, Deborah, arose, a mother in Israel. Israel chose new gods, then there was war in the city gates. Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.

Israel was beset by physical enemies who fought against them and dominated them. In our case, in Ephesians 6:12-13 Paul taught us that,

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.

Like Israel, we must learn not to turn our backs on God and His Way. We cannot win our spiritual battles without God’s help any more than Israel could win their physical battles without God’s help. When we leave behind God’s Way, when we go off His script, we leave behind His victories also.

The same truth that confronted Israel is present with us today. Sin only produces sorrow. Those who sin suffer. Those who are sinned against suffer. God suffers. Like the Prodigal Son, we must “come to our senses.”

Israel Repented of Sin and They were Saved:

Let’s read Judges 2:16-18,

The Lord raised up judges, who saved them from the power of their marauders, but they did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods, bowing down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands. They did not do as their ancestors did. Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for the Israelites, the Lord was with him and saved the people from the power of their enemies while the judge was still alive. The Lord was moved to pity whenever they groaned because of those who were oppressing and afflicting them. 

John Maxwell, a noted Christian expert on leadership, studied the reason why people change their habits and practices and other aspects of their lives. He stated that people change only when three conditions are met:

 * When they hurt enough to make it necessary to change.

* When they know enough about what they need to change.

* When they know enough about how to make the necessary change.

Considering the state that Israel was in, it wasn’t hard for them to meet these requirements! They saw their need, and they saw that only God could fulfill their needs, and so they turned back to Him. What would God do?

Our God is a faithful God. And when we repent, He will save us. He did this for Israel in human, physical terms. He still does this for us today in spiritual terms as well. This is illustrated by Jesus in the Parable of the Prodigal Son which is really the story of a loving father. But the Parable of the Lost Sheep is some ways even more encouraging, because it is really the story of a good shepherd who went out looking for the lost sheep. In fact, God doesn’t wait for us to come home, He comes looking for us, because Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

While God takes the initiative when it comes to caring for His people, we also cannot minimize the role of repentance. Repentance is not feeling bad about something. That is guilt. Nor is repentance an effort to make amends for something that was wrong to do. That is restitution. Instead, repentance is a decision of our will to go in a different direction. Repentance is a “U-turn” in our life’s path. Repentance is a desire in our heart to serve God. Repentance is turning our back on the life of sin.

We all know the jokes about how men hate to ask for directions when travelling. A man and his wife were on a trip, and the husband became frustrated at the slow traffic on the Interstate Highway. He took an exit for a side road and began trying to make his way to their destination. Soon, he was hopelessly lost, but when his wife asked him to turn around and retrace their path to the Interstate, he refused. “Why should I give ground?” he asked. “Besides, there is no traffic on this road, and we’re making great time!”

Meteorologists have coined a rhyming phrase to help people avoid the dangers associated with flooded roads, “Turn around; don’t drown!” Jesus taught us that the path to destruction is broad, and that many will take it. Our only way to avoid destruction is to turn around. 

Israel Fell Back into Sin:

Let’s read Judges 2:19-23,

Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more corruptly than their ancestors, following other gods to serve them and bow in worship to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinate ways. The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he declared, “Because this nation has violated my covenant that I made with their ancestors and disobeyed me, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. I did this to test Israel and to see whether or not they would keep the Lord’s way by walking in it, as their ancestors had.” The Lord left these nations and did not drive them out immediately. He did not hand them over to Joshua.

How would you respond to someone who had just saved your life? How would you respond to someone who had just given you a home? Would you be grateful? Would you ignore them? Would you spit in their face?

Israel spit in God’s face. They went right back to their sinful ways. They ignored God’s Word and His Way. They went right back to serving their false gods. Remember what Proverbs 26:11 says? “As a dog returns to its vomit, so also a fool repeats his foolishness.” This is Israel in a nutshell.

To put it simply, the children of Israel were addicted to sin. Just like someone addicted to a physical substance, they were unable to change their ways permanently. They might do better for a period of time, but soon they would suffer a relapse. This is such a common occurrence, that it has even become an advertising strategy. Whether it be a potato chip of which is said, “No one can eat just one,” or a lollypop that people can’t resist biting instead of licking, advertisers have learned to capitalize on human weaknesses. So have the forces of evil. Israel could not repent in their own power. They needed help. 

Like Biblical Israel, people today are addicted to sin also. We are unable to repent in our own power. We need help, too. 

Alcoholics Anonymous is one of the most successful programs for overcoming addictions. The first three of the twelve steps in their program points us the way we need to go in defeating our sin addiction: 

* We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -- that our lives had become unmanageable 

* We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

* We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

Our God, as we understand Him from the Bible, has made a way for us!   In Romans 7: 21-25  Paul tells us, 

So I discover this law:  When I want to do what is good,  evil is present with me. For in my inner self I delight in God’s law, but I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin.

In Romans 8:1-4, Paul went on to enlighten us even more saying, 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do since it was weakened by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 

Conclusion:

Are we stuck in the same addictive cycle as the Israelites? Are we like the dog that goes back to his vomit? Are our lives out of control because of sin? If so, God is seeking us today with the solution we need. He offers us His Son who will forgive our sin, and He offers us power to live an abundant life!  Are you tired of running in circles? Come to Him today!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about Biblical Citizenship

Today I want to share a word about Biblical citizenship from Romans 13:1-7.

Few areas of life today are more controversial than politics and governance.  In a modern democracy, the winner of an election may still have almost one-half of his fellow citizens vote against him.

Although we have established here in the United States a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” we may need to ask the question, “Should we have human governments?”

One response to this question is illustrated in the novel and book “The Sand Pebbles.”  Set during one of the many civil wars in China during the inter-war years, a missionary family declared themselves to be stateless persons.  This didn't help, for that status wasn't recognized by any of the combatant sides.  We must live with human governments whether we like it or not!

Paul taught us how to view human government in Romans 13:1-7.

God Has Ordained Human Government:

In verses 1 and 2 Paul made this point to the church at Rome,

Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God. 2 So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.

Scholars have discerned that three realms of authority on earth have been established in the Bible.

The first realm is The Family. We see this in the Creation Story in Genesis, in the wedding at Cana, in 1 Corinthians 1:7 and Ephesians Chapter 4.

The next, realm is The Church, which looks back to Matthew Chapter 16 and Acts Chapter 2 for its founding.

Finally, there is the realm of Government, which we see established here in Romans Chapter 13 and also through Jethro’s counsel to Moses in Exodus Chapter 18:13ff, 

The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning until evening. When Moses’s father-in-law saw everything he was doing for them he asked, “What is this you’re doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?” Moses replied to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I make a decision between one man and another. I teach them God’s statutes and laws.” “What you’re doing is not good,” Moses’s father-in-law said to him. “You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone. Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you. You be the one to represent the people before God and bring their cases to him. Instruct them about the statutes and laws, and teach them the way to live and what they must do. But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating dishonest profit. Place them over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every major case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load, and they will bear it with you. If you do this, and God so directs you, you will be able to endure, and also all these people will be able to go home satisfied.” Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. So Moses chose able men from all Israel and made them leaders over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They judged the people at all times; they would bring the hard cases to Moses, but they would judge every minor case themselves.

The first two verses in Romans 13 answer the question of why we should be obedient to human government. 

Personal loyalty is the most powerful reason for obedience. People will lie, cheat, steal, and die for those they believe in. The fates of the Apostles, with all of them martyred in one way or another, shows their loyalty and obedience to Christ.

The problem we have with this is that people are human and frail, and they will fail us. The pastor who married my wife and I often said from the pulpit, “Don’t follow me. I am human and I will fail you. Follow God, follow His Word, and follow the Holy Spirit.” 

Governments at all levels are made up of people, they will fail. Our loyalty is to God; however, we need to remember that He asks us to be obedient to our government. 

So, as we loyally follow God and are obedient to our government, what does Paul mean when he tells us to be subject to our government? Paul was not asking us to be doormats or slaves. In fact, he asserted his rights as a Roman citizen several times in the Book of Acts.

The Greek word translated “subject” really means to cooperate, to play our proper part. It was used to describe military units arranging themselves in proper order on the battlefield. It means holding human government accountable, but it does not mean to rebel without just cause.

Because our nation was founded in rebellion, we sometimes forget how destructive rebellion is to society. Our war for independence produced a stable nation but the French Revolution continued for many years and wreaked havoc with French society. 

Rebellion, which God equates with witchcraft, is not something we should choose lightly. We must remember that the American Revolution was sparked by the colonies being excluded from the political processes in the British Government. We should be careful not to leave that step out and go straight to rebellion!

God Uses Human Government:

One reason God wants us to obey human government, according to Paul in verses 3 and 4, is that God uses it:

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. For it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.

God is not physically present in this world today. He has chosen to use humans to accomplish His bidding. His task for the family is to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. His task for the church is to redeem the ungodly, not control them. The government is God’s chosen instrument to control human behavior.

God has empowered government to control human behavior for him: He has given the state the power to penalize wrong doers. God has also given the state power to reward those who do good. We don’t often see a police officer as a minister of God, but according to Paul, he is! 

And remember, Paul did not live in a democracy the way we do here in the United States. He was the citizen of an authoritarian and often despotically governed empire, yet God revealed to him the role that government played in God’s eternal plan.

God reserves the right of vengeance to Himself; in Romans 12:19 we read, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” God deputizes human government to repay. God even outlines punishments in the Bible that governments can use, such as fines, restitution, death, even banishment.

God does love justice and mercy, but we need to allow Him to discipline His own servant. When we try to do that, we put ourselves in the place of the Master, and this, of course, is wrong.

When I was in high school my father was involved in a minor traffic accident and some citations were issued which resulted in him being summoned to the local court. I went with him that day to observe the proceedings. Another teen who attended my school was also there, contesting a speeding ticket issued to him by a police officer. I knew the teen, and I suspected that he had been speeding, but he was able to refute some of the details of the police officer’s testimony, and he was found not guilty. The moral of that is this: when we follow proper paths of appeal, our issues can be resolved. Resisting on the street causes more offences to occur, and these delegitimize our actions.

God Expects His People To Participate In Human Government:

In verses 5 through 7, Paul gave some practical examples of what God expects of us:

Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

I can think of three basic reasons to obey a government:

* Out of blind habit.

* Out of fear of punishment.

* Out of respect for the God who put government in place. 

My wife is a retired teacher. During her career in education, she discovered that all students would obey a strict teacher, but only the respectful students would obey all teachers. 

As we respect God, we must also respect our government in practical ways such as:

* Paying our taxes and other fees.

* Treating our leaders with respect and honor.

* Obeying the laws of the land.

As Jesus Himself said, we should give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s!

The bottom line is that we must work with and in government. We do this to improve it and to ensure it maintains the appropriate level of righteousness and justice. 

We also need to use it for the best advantage of the Gospel. Paul appealing to Rome in Acts Chapter 25 allowed him to go to Rome and share the Gospel there such that even members of Caesar’s household became followers of Christ.

We also, individually, need to consider becoming part of government so that we, as Christians, can help leaven the loaf, so to speak.

God Expects Us to Govern Ourselves:

In verses 8 through 14, Paul reminds us that God expects us to govern ourselves:

Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not covet; and any other commandment, are summed up by this commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.  Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is nearly over, and the day is near; so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.

It is important to note that Chapters 12 and 13 form a kind of literary sandwich. In Chapter 12, we are urged to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, set apart to be pleasing to God. Paul went so far as to say in Romans 12:17-18,

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 

In Romans 12:21, Paul goes on to say, “Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.”

Then, and only then, does Paul begin his discussion of human government, which is in the context of Christians behaving in a way that honors God. After these seven verses, Paul returns to his major concern, which is Christians not behaving badly. If we govern ourselves as mature people, human government will have less need to interfere in our lives.

But what are we to do when our government become unjust, and when our God-given rights to worship Him are taken away?

First, if we have done what Paul directed in Verses 1-7, we will have the opportunity to prevent that from happening.  As many political commentators over the years have pointed out, “Elections have consequences.” They can be positive consequences or the negative consequences, so we must be sure to play our part in the process. But what if things good bad? Paul comments about this in Romans 15:3-6,

For even Christ did not please himself. On the contrary, as it is written, The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.  For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures.  Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.

Our first concern must be the reputation of God, who has promised to be with us and to help us in every phase of our lives as Paul also noted in Romans 15:13,

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion:

We often find it hard to believe that God can use something so disorganized and riddled with problems as government.  

Of course, if He can use a similarly troublesome body like the church, He can certainly use human governments.  

We need to honor His purposes in that endeavor.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about the Planned Light

Today we will conclude  series of sermons based on our 2026 VBS theme that I am calling The Light of the World. In this episode, we will see that Jesus is The Planned Light.

Many times, we make plans that we can’t keep or plans we shouldn’t keep. For example:

A boy approached a lady in his church and promised, “Lady, if you give me a quarter, my little brother will imitate a chicken,” The lady was not impressed, and she replied, “So, what will he do for this quarter, cluck and flap his arms?” “No,” the boy replied, “he wouldn’t do a cheap imitation like that. He’ll eat a worm!”

Another fellow knocked on his neighbor’s door.  When his neighbor answered his knock, he said, “I’m so sorry, I just ran over your cat with my car. I want to do the right thing and replace him.” His neighbor said, “O.K. then, there’s a mouse in my kitchen.  Go get it!”

A final example of this comes from the personal ads of a newspaper: “If Jack Smith, who deserted his wife and baby twenty years ago will return, the aforementioned baby will knock the socks off of him.”

As we have noted before in both Matthew 16 and Acts 1, Jesus had a plan for the church to be the focus of ministry in the world after His Ascension to Heaven. A major part of that plan was for His church to receive power for its work.  Today we will see how that power came and what it helps us to do. Let’s begin by reading Acts 2:1-4,

When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.

The Plan for Power:

Jesus knew that the task given to the church was beyond our human power to accomplish. That’s why His plan included giving the church power from heaven. He had told His disciples in Acts 1:6-10 to go back into the city and wait for power, and now it had come.

One of the most transforming events in the lives of rural Americans was the Rural Electrification Act (REA) which provided funding to extend electricity to the famers and other residents of rural America. That process, as well as Rural Free Delivery (RFD) brought a power to integrate with society to rural people that they didn’t have before. 

The power experienced by the Apostles was unlike anything ever experienced before or since. There was an unearthly sound that filled the whole house. Something appeared that look like fire. The Apostles were filled with the Spirit of God. They began to speak in other, unknown to them, human languages. Many missionaries have prayed for the gift of tongues while trying to learn a difficult foreign language! 

To imagine the impact on the Apostles, try to think back to the first time you ever tasted coffee. It was strong and probably bitter, and you didn’t know what to think about it. Another way I think about this experience is when I had an injection in a nerve in my hip. It was like an electric shock went down my leg. I squealed like a little girl, and I almost came off of the examination table! The impact on the crowd was also dynamic, as we read in Acts 2:12-13,

They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But some sneered and said, “They’re drunk on new wine.”

Those who witnessed this power were amazed. Many just sat and watched in awe and wonder. Others tried to blame what happened on sin. People often attribute good things to sin or Satan. Even Jesus had this happen to Him. The fact is that God’s power is far beyond what we understand. We shouldn’t try to explain it or scoff at it.

This was the awesome and life-changing power that Jesus had promised. This was power from God Himself which was both the power to supernaturally relate to God as well as power to work outside our own strength in God’s Kingdom. The church had a gift and a power that the Old Testament saints never had. We must be grateful for it and we must allow it to empower our lives for God.

This is like the story of a Hunter walking through the jungle who found a huge dead elephant with a pigmy standing beside it. Amazed, he asked: "Did you kill that?" The pigmy said, "Yes." The hunter asked, "How could a little bloke like you kill a huge beast like that?" "I killed it with my club." The astonished hunter asked, "How big is your club?" The pigmy replied, "Let me think.  There's about 60 of us." With the power of the Holy Spirit, we can do ministry together that we could not have done before He came to us!

God’s plan for the church required that He give us spiritual power beyond ourselves, but it was more than that. Let’s read Acts 2:5-11

Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven. When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts), Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.”

The Plan for Relationships:

The church is about people. God created this world for people, and He loves to relate to us. Jesus died for people, and the Holy Spirit was sent to people. We need to be about people too. We all know that the church is not the building, but the congregation. In 2 Samuel 7, David wanted to build God a temple. But God rebuffed him, telling him that God does not need buildings, even if people do.  That is why we have church buildings, so we can house our ministry and for our church buildings can be a springboard to take the Gospel into our community. One Christian writer has called local churches circles of light, bringing the Light of the World to their neighbors so that they can have the Light of Life illuminate their hearts.

Our problem is that our sin not only separates us from God, but it also divides people from each other. One of the first sins mentioned in Bible after the fall was murder. Half of the Ten Commandments dealt with how people are to treat each other. In our own time, very little political moderates in the USA today and even within churches, conflict is a serious issue. One state Baptist denominational leader once told me, “We start most of our new churches by splitting old ones.”

We need help to relate to people, and God gave it to us at Pentecost! Every person present on that day from over 14 nations heard the Gospel in a way that they could relate to effectively. This is the task of every missionary. They use tools like the Jesus Film or the Storying Cloth to share the Gospel It is also the task of every Christian. We can use our personal testimonies or invite people to Sunday School or church.

A long-time denominational leader recently told me that the secret to evangelism in the 21st Century is through developing relationships. This is not always easy, but the Holy Spirit will help us if we live in the Light of the World. What is the Gospel message we are to share? Let’s read Acts 2:14-18,

Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. I will even pour out my Spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women and they will prophesy.”

Let’s also read Acts 2:22-23,

“Fellow Israelites, listen to these words: This Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through him, just as you yourselves know. Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used[e] lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him. God raised him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by death.”

And, let’s read Acts 2:32-35,

“God has raised this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this.  Therefore, since he has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you both see and hear.  For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’”

The Plan to Preach:

Relating can be hard, but it is easier than preaching! However, if we relate without preaching, we are simply not doing the job. A missionary once told us that she spent so much time being culturally sensitive that she found she wasn’t witnessing. Churches often try to attract people by adapting to culture surrounding them, but as the old preacher said, “If you get with a hotdog you have to keep them with hotdogs.” The offense of the Gospel must take place. God’s truth must be revealed, and He has chosen us to do it!

How do we do this? The same way that Peter did! Peter was an uneducated fisherman. He had run away from Jesus and denied Him with a curse. After the crucifixion, Peter went back to fishing and yet, now, he preached the first Christian sermon. How did he do it?  By letting God empower him. By using the Scriptures. And by sharing what God had done in his life through Christ

God empowered Peter’s human nature for supernatural ministry! Peter was bold, but now his boldness was directed properly. Loose cannons are dangerous, but when aimed properly, they are effective! Peter was a rough man, but now God used that roughness to witness for Himself. Peter was a die-heard Jew, but now the Spirit interpreted that Jewishness properly. God will use effectively what we have when we submit it to His will!

God gave us the power to relate to people and to preach the Gospel for a purpose. Let’s look at what that purpose is in Acts 2:37-47,

Then they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt[k] generation!” So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

The Plan to Grow:

From the beginning, God’s plan has been for the church to grow. The church is the Body of Christ, and so the church is an organism, not an organization. Organisms must grow and develop or they will die. God did not buy us from slavery to sin to have us wither and die. We are divinely appointed to grow!

This passage tells us several ways that God wants his church to grow:

* Growth by salvation (V.V. 40 & 41).

* Growth in doctrine (V. 42).

* Growth in fellowship (V. 42).

* Growth in prayer (V. 42).

* Growth in our awe of God (V.V. 43)

* Growth in meeting peoples’ needs (V.V. 44-5).

* Growth in our worship together (V.V. 46 & 47).

* Growth that happens regularly (V. 47).

So, in light of this passage, we must ask ourselves some hard questions: Are we growing effectively?  Are we growing consistently? Are we growing in all of these areas and more? The answer is that we should be, because we have the power!

Conclusion:

 God doesn’t believe in wasted effort.  According to His plan, He has given His church his church the power to relate to people, preach the Gospel, and grow in fellowship, outreach, and ministry.

Are we being faithful stewards with the light God has given us?

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about the Proven Light

 

Today we will continue a series of sermons based on our 2026 VBS theme that I am calling The Light of the World. In this episode, we will see that Jesus is The Proven Light.

How do people prove a thing? That will vary depending upon what realm of life we are considering. For example, in social media, a common meme is, “Pictures or it didn’t happen!” That goes along with the idea of, “Seeing is believing” or the motto of Missouri, which is the “Show Me State.”

In legal realms, a person might submit an affidavit which is attested to by a notary public. During trials, evidence is testified to by witnesses, some of whom relate to the court what they saw in eyewitness testimony, while other swear to the reliability and veracity of physical or circumstantial evidence.

Scientists look to empirical evidence to support their hypothesis, and in sports we play the game or run the race to prove who is the better team or athlete. All manner of contests are conducted each year in all manner of professions, crafts, and hobbies, and each of them will establish the criteria by which the products of the contestants are judged. Industries around the world have established standards which their quality control offices are expected to enforce. The list of how we prove a thing is almost endless.

As extensive as the list of proofs may be, none of them are perfect. Jesus, however, perfectly proved that He is the Light of the World, however, and that proof is the subject of our message for today. Let’s begin with Mark 14:22-31.

As they were eating, he took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will fall away, because it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.  But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” Peter told him, “Even if everyone falls away, I will not.”  “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to him, “today, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he kept insisting, “If I have to die with you, I will never deny you.” And they all said the same thing.

How do we know that Jesus is The Proven Light? Let’s begin by understanding the Biblical standards to prove a spiritual fact.

The Need to Prove:

What is the Biblical guidance to prove whether someone has come from God with a message from God? The Bible gives is clear guidance about this but before we take up the task of discerning those standards, we should ask why we should apply those standards. After all, didn’t Jesus say in the Sermon on the Mount, “Do not Judge?”

Yes, Jesus did say that, but He said more than that. This is what He actually said in Matthew 7:1-2, 

Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use.

This type of judgment is for condemnation, not evaluation. All of us are sinners, and when we condemn others, we are also condemning ourselves. Jesus also said in Matthew 7:15-20,

Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit.  Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.

 Far from prohibiting us from evaluating the truthfulness of a spiritual leader, Jesus actually commanded us to do so. Later, in 1John 4:1, the Apostle John reminded believers of that need. He said,

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Long before there was fake news, false prophets led God’s people astray and undermined their faith and their witness for God. When they do this people get hurt, and God is dishonored. Even in modern times, this continues to happen. Two obvious examples of this would be Jim Jones and the Jonestown Massacre in Guyana, and David Koresh and the Mount Carmel siege and disaster. Other, less notorious, examples can be found which also have hurt untold numbers of people.

Not only are we commanded to evaluate our spiritual leaders, but God invites His people to put Him to the test also. In Malachi 3:10, God challenges us to test Him and see what He will do in our lives. What are the Biblical standards for such an evaluation? Let’s read Deuteronomy 18:17-22,

Then the Lord said to me, ‘They have spoken well. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to my words that he speaks in my name. But the prophet who presumes to speak a message in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet must die.’ You may say to yourself, ‘How can we recognize a message the Lord has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the Lord’s name, and the message does not come true or is not fulfilled, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.

How to Prove:

What is the Biblical guidance to prove whether someone has come from God with a message from God? The Bible gives us clear guidance, the most basic of which is simply this: if the Lord promises something He will do it, and if a prophet announces God’s plans, they will come true. On the other hand, if what a leader of God’s people says does not come true, that statement and that person were not sent from God. This is a very digital standard: a predicted thing happened or it didn’t happen. This is black and white, with no shades of gray, but what about things whose time has not yet come? The Bible gives us more guidance that will help us discern the truth.

First, a true prophet’s message will never contradict the teachings and character of God as revealed in the Scriptures. God’s Word is congruent, and it never contradicts itself. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 says,

If a prophet or someone who has dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you, and that sign or wonder he has promised you comes about, but he says, ‘Let’s follow other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let’s worship them,’ do not listen to that prophet’s words or to that dreamer. For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul.

In the New Testament church, Apollos was a powerful orator who had a great power of influence. The problem was that He was preaching an incorrect Gospel. He could have wrecked the early church, had not Pricilla and Aquilla taken him aside and helped him to understand the whole counsel of the Word of God.

The Bible also tells us to evaluate a prophet’s life and character. That’s What Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount when He said that we will know them by the fruit of their lives. A true prophet will exhibit a life of righteousness and integrity, reflecting the holiness of God. A problem that has arisen with some Christian leaders today is that their maturity and integrity have not kept pace with their talents and their ability to influence people. If they are not careful, they might lead people astray. The lives led by cult leaders Jim Jones and David Koresh would not have met this standard, and that should have been a warning for more trouble to come. And trouble certainly came to their followers.

I once knew a pastor of a small church who was convicted in Federal court of swindling dozens of elderly people out of tens of thousands of dollars. He was sent to prison for nearly a year, but he told the members of his church that he was leaving on an extended mission trip! When he was discharged from prison, he went back to the church and began preaching again! The true facts of his absence were discovered before more people were harmed.

Another test of a true prophet is that their ministry edifies the church. In 1 Corinthians 14:3, Paul wrote that, “the person who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement, and consolation.” A true prophet's message will build up the body of Christ, promoting spiritual growth and unity.

Finally, a true prophet operates under the influence and power of the Holy Spirit. His fruit and His gifting are apparent in their ministry.

So, we have seen the need to prove a spiritual proclamation, and we have also seen how to prove it. What did Jesus say that He would also later prove? Let’s consider Mark 10:32-40,

They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were astonished, but those who followed him were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them the things that would happen to him. “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles, and they will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him, and he will rise after three days.” James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask you.”  “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked them. They answered him, “Allow us to sit at your right and at your left in your glory.” Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We are able,” they told him.  Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with. But to sit at my right or left is not mine to give; instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

What To Prove:

In this passage we see Jesus opening up to His disciples about what the future held for His ministry. He was predicting some very specific events would take place, events that would radically affect their lives. Let’s review a simplified list of these events:

• He and the Disciples would go to Jerusalem.
• He would be betrayed and placed in the hands of the Jewish leaders.
• The Jews would hand Him over to the Gentiles
• He will be condemned to death
• He would be mocked and abused, and then He’d be killed.
• He would rise again the third day.
• Jesus would drink this cup willingly.

This passage is short and it contains few details, but the impact on His disciples was significant. All of them knew something big was about to happen. This surprised them all and it frightened most of them. Somehow, James and John mistakenly saw this as an opportunity to gain higher positions and more authority. Regardless, all of His followers believed what Jesus had told them and they took His words seriously. Were they being naïve, or would Jesus prove to be true in what He said would happen? Let’s read Mark 14:32-37

Then they came to a place named Gethsemane, and he told his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. He said to them, “I am deeply grieved[g] to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake.” He went a little farther, fell to the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will.”  Then he came and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you stay awake one hour?

What Was Proven:

In short, the next two chapters of Mark prove that what Jesus said would happen, did happen and that Jesus did what He said that He would do. 

First, we see clearly that Jesus and His followers were in Jerusalem, and that He willingly drank of the cup of His sacrifice in accordance with the will of the Father. What else happened that Jesus had predicted?  Mark 14:42-50 tells us,

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived. With him was a mob, with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. His betrayer had given them a signal. “The one I kiss,” he said, “he’s the one; arrest him and take him away under guard.” So when he came, immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. They took hold of him and arrested him. One of those who stood by drew his sword, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his ear. Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were a criminal, to capture me? Every day I was among you, teaching in the temple, and you didn’t arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” Then they all deserted him and ran away.

Obviously, Jesus was handed over to the Jewish authorities, and He was betrayed by Judas and the rest of His disciples. How was He treated by them?  Mark 14:55-65 says,

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they could not find any. For many were giving false testimony against him, and the testimonies did not agree. Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, stating, “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another not made by hands.’” Yet their testimony did not agree even on this. Then the high priest stood up before them all and questioned Jesus, “Don’t you have an answer to what these men are testifying against you?” But he kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest questioned him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”  “I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What is your decision?” They all condemned him as deserving death. Then some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to beat him, saying, “Prophesy!” The temple servants also took him and slapped him.

Even this was not the limit of what happened to Jesus. Mark 15:1-3 says,

As soon as it was morning, having held a meeting with the elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin, the chief priests tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.  So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.” And the chief priests accused him of many things.

Mark 15:15-20 tells us what happened next:

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them; and after having Jesus flogged, he handed him over to be crucified. The soldiers led him away into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence) and called the whole company together. They dressed him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” They were hitting him on the head with a stick and spitting on him. Getting down on their knees, they were paying him homage. After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple robe and put his clothes on him. They led him out to crucify him.

So, again, so far everything that Jesus had predicted came to pass. These were just the warm-up acts, however. The main event was yet to come, because if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, the fact that the rest of His prophecies came true would not have any meaning. Prophecy is an “all or nothing” affair, so we must ask, did Jesus finish the job? Of course He did. Let’s read Mark 16:1-7,

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they could go and anoint him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb at sunrise. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?” Looking up, they noticed that the stone—which was very large—had been rolled away. When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side; they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he told them. “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they put him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there just as he told you.’”

So, everything Jesus predicted came to pass, proving that He was the Light of the World and the Son of God. Because of this we can agree with the centurion who stood at the foot of the cross an said, “Truly this man was the Son of God.”

Conclusion:

 When David volunteered to confront Goliath, Saul gave David his own armor and sword to use in the encounter, but David rejected them because he had not proven them. Instead, he chose to go out armed with his tried-and-true sling and five smooth stones. In these Scriptures we have seen that Jesus is the Proven Light, and we have no need for any substitutes. In fact, only the original will do!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about the Powerful Light

 

Today we will continue a series of sermons based on our 2026 VBS theme that I am calling The Light of the World. In this episode, we will see that Jesus is The Powerful Light.

So far in this series we have seen that Jesus is The Perpetual Light and The Promised Light, for whom people waited centuries for His coming. We have also seen that He is The Perfect Light, without sin or mistake and who is one with His Father in Heaven. These are key aspects to the nature and character of Jesus which make Him able, as God, to be the Light of the World. However, He can only be The Light Of Our Lives if He can affect us and our circumstances. Blessedly for us, He has that power.

The power of physical light is often underestimated, but it is real. We have already noted in this series that light is a powerful disinfectant, but it is also an effective treatment for Newborn Jaundice. Light also has the power to change the behavior of people: one of the most common security measures against burglary is security lighting, which drives criminals to other, less illuminated locales. Lazers, which are a highly concentrated light form, have been used in medicine and industry for decades, and they have now become so powerful that they are a weapon of war. 

A theme of all these human developments is the destructive power of light. Naturally, however, light is a key to the process of photosynthesis, which produces and sustains all the life on our planet. Without light, life would cease to exist here.

As powerful as light can be, no physical light can be as powerful as the Light of the World, however, and The Powerful Light is the subject of our message for today. Let’s read Matthew 15: 29-39,

Moving on from there, Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee. He went up on a mountain and sat there, and large crowds came to him, including the lame, the blind, the crippled, those unable to speak, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he healed them. So the crowd was amazed when they saw those unable to speak talking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they gave glory to the God of Israel. Jesus called his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, otherwise they might collapse on the way.”  The disciples said to him, “Where could we get enough bread in this desolate place to feed such a crowd?”  “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked them. “Seven,” they said, “and a few small fish.” After commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They collected the leftover pieces—seven large baskets full. Now there were four thousand men who had eaten, besides women and children. After dismissing the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

From this passage of Scripture, we see two dimensions of the Light’s power in our lives and two reasons why God has decided to exert His power to give us the Light of Life.

The Power of The Word:

The Bible is a collection of masterfully crafted books, poems, songs, and letters which contain many straightforward facts and descriptions of events. It also includes many subtle features and contexts which we will miss if we don’t pay close attention to them. This is one reason why we must read the Word regularly. When we watch our favorite movie again, or listen to our favorite song another time, we find new facets to them which we overlooked at first glance. The same holds true with the Bible.

The ostensible focus of this passage is the miracle of Jesus in which he fed the four thousand. It is easy, then, to gloss over or miss entirely the posture of Jesus when this event began. Jesus was sitting down. This is not a minor detail, but it is quite significant.

In the Jewish synagogue of the First Century, rabbis sat to teach. Jesus, of course, was the master teacher and the greatest rabbi, and He prioritized the teaching of the Word. This, of course, was the right path to follow, and being The Perfect Light, and one with God the Father, Jesus would know that. So, why should the Word have priority? Because its power is eternal and it has an eternal impact upon us. In Mark 8:34-38, Jesus taught His followers,

Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it. For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life? What can anyone give in exchange for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

In Ephesians 6, during Paul’s discussion of the Whole Armor of God, every item he described was defensive in nature except one, “the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God.”  In Hebrews 4:12, we read that,

For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Paul also counseled his protégé, Timothy, to allow the Word to have power in his life, saying in 2 Timothy 3:14-17, 

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, and you know that from infancy you have  known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The greatest power found in the Light of the World is the power of God’s Word, which will transform our lives from the inside out and give us both an abundant life here on earth, and eternal life in the hereafter. This is the most important power of the Light of the World, but not the only one. 

The Power of Provision:

The most obvious use of power in our focal passage is the power to provide for the needs of people. Amazingly, even that, however, was not apparent to some on that mountain on that day, although, as we look back upon those events, we should not be surprised.

We know from God’s Word that Jesus was the agent of creation. The Bible tells us that nothing was created which was created without Jesus. If Jesus was Creator, and He was, then Jesus is the Owner. As the owner, Jesus has the authority to do as He wills with His creation. As the Powerful Light, Jesus has the ability to do what He wills with His creation. Thus, it makes total sense to us today, that Jesus could use His power to provide for human needs, and He did.

As we see in the beginning of this passage, Jesus had power over disease. Here we see Him exercising His power, because everyone there saw, “those unable to speak talking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing.” In other places in the Scripture, we know that Jesus healed lepers and people with fevers and chronic bleeding as well. And power over disease is only the beginning of how Jesus provided for the daily needs of people in the Bible. 

* In Matthew 14 Jesus demonstrated power over storms.

* In Matthew 14 Jesus also demonstrated power over the Laws of Physics when He and Peter walked on the Water.

* In Matthew 4 Jesus demonstrated power over temptation.

* In Matthew 9 and 12 Jesus demonstrated power over religion.

* In Matthew 22 Jesus demonstrated power over politics.

* In John 11 Jesus demonstrated power over death.

* In this passage and others, Jesus demonstrated power over hunger.

This last point is interesting, because when Jesus wanted to feed the people, His disciples were doubtful. Jesus had just been demonstrating His power, and He literally had done some amazing things. Plus, the previous chapter in Matthew recorded that He had already just fed five thousand people, and in this case, He even had more supplies to work with. Why did they doubt?

First, we must remember that the Holy Spirit had not yet come. We know that “the Spirit bears witness with our spirit,” and so we have a great advantage that the followers of Jesus didn’t have on that day on the mountain. We say that “seeing is believing,” but that is not necessarily true, as we can see here. We should give the disciples the benefit of the doubt.

On the other hand, what about us? Why do we doubt the power of Jesus in our lives? We have the testimony of the Bible to His power in people’s lives. We have the testimony of our fellow church members to His power in their lives. We have the testimony of our experiences to His power in our lives. We have the testimony of the Holy Spirit to His power in all of our lives. So, why do we doubt?  Maybe we wonder why Jesus would bother with us?

The Power of Compassion:

Why would Jesus devote Himself to blessing and ministering to frail, sinful, and rebellious people? Why would He be kind to those who rejected His Father? Why would He spend His time, attention, and effort to help us? Paul also asked this question in Romans 5:6-7,

For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die

Of course, in our natural state we are the ungodly and we are not good. So, that leaves us out, right? In the human economy that is true, but not in God’s economy. Paul went on to say, in Romans 5:8-9,

But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath.

John told us that God is love, and Paul told us that God proved that by offering Jesus to be the sacrifice for our sin. And, as Jesus said himself, “I have compassion on the crowd . . .”  So, compassion was the motivation of The Powerful Light to bless people, even when we were in rebellion against Him and His Father.

Although we know that compassion was the motivation for Jesus to act in our lives, He, like John the Baptist, had a specific mission. John’s mission was to testify to The Light. What was Jesus born to do? Jesus, Himself, described His mission clearly for us in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”

Make no mistake, Jesus came to save people from their sins and to provide them eternal life. Jesus always kept this mission in the forefront, to the point that He pushed back against His own mother, Mary, at the Wedding at Cana, and also calling Peter Satan when Peter pushed back against Him after Jesus told His disciples about His coming death, burial, and resurrection. When Jesus was at a place and all the people there wanted was for Him to perform miracles, Jesus would leave that place and move on. Why then did He attend to human needs of people at all?

The answer is that Jesus had both compassion and power. He could help people, and He loved people, and so out of His powerful compassion He acted. He turned water into wine so that a wedding would not be ruined. He healed the sick, blind, and lame so that people’s lives on earth would not be ruined. He died for us on the cross and He rose again so that our eternity would not be ruined.

I often share stories of my Father, but I had a wonderful mother also. I clearly remember a number of occasions, after I was an adult and had my own family, she would buy me a nice present or pay for a repair for my automobile. I would tell her, “Mama, you didn’t have to do that.” She’d just smile and say, “I know I didn’t. I wanted to. And I could.”  The same is true for Jesus. He doesn’t have to bless us, but He wants to. And He can. So, He does.

The Powerful Light becomes the Light of Our Life by giving us His Word and satisfying our human needs by His compassion. But there’s more.

The Power of God’s Glory:

Another, almost hidden, statement in our focal passage gives us the second reason Jesus uses His power to bless us. Let’s read Matthew 15:31,

So the crowd was amazed when they saw those unable to speak talking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they gave glory to the God of Israel.

Jesus wanted to exercise His power in the lives of people because of His love, but also because He wanted to enjoy receiving the glory that is due Him as the Almighty God of the Universe. He taught this principle from the very beginning of His ministry. In the Sermon on the Mount, in Mathew 5:14-16, He said this,

You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

As a former colleague used to tell me, “You can’t hide money!” Jesus is glorious and He deserves all the praise and the honor that He is due. One way to gain that praise, one way to receive the honor that He is due, is by “Showing up and showing out.” He did that in this passage, and He does that when He works in our lives, showering us with His power and His blessings. He has done that through out His relationship with His people.

* In 2 Chronicle 5:14, the glory of the Lord filled God’s temple on the day it was dedicated to Him.

* In Mark 2:12, a lame man was healed by Jesus and then, “Immediately he got up, took the mat, and went out in front of everyone. As a result, they were all astounded and gave glory to God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’”

* In Luke 17:15-6, a leper healed by Jesus, “. . . seeing that he was healed, returned and, with a loud voice, gave glory to God. He fell facedown at his feet, thanking him. And he was a Samaritan.”

* In John 11, Jesus delayed going to heal Lazarus, and told Martha, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

* In Acts 7:55, as Stephen was beings stoned to death, “[he] gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”

* In Acts 12, when Herod was called a god after he had addressed a crowd, “At once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.”

* In Romans 15:5-6, Paul said, “Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.”

* In I Corinthians 10:31, Paul said, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”

* In 2 Corinthians 4:14-15, Paul said, “For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you. Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God.”

* John, in Revelation 14:7 wrote, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

Artists create paintings so others can appreciate them. Athletes play to demonstrate their abilities to those in the stands. Entertainers take the stage to hear the applause of the crowd. God acts through The Powerful Light to gain the praise and honor and glory that only He deserves!

Conclusion:

 Our focal passage for today gives us great insight into actions and attitudes of The Powerful Light. We’ve seen how His power is applied to the lives of people and also why His power is applied to the lives of people. The only question remaining is, will we let The Powerful Light shine on us, in us, and through us?

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt