All This Authority

And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ” Luke 4:5-8 (ESV)

The beauty of the Biblical accounts of Yeshua is that He left heaven and became a man. Yeshua had all glory and power, yet He gave it all up to become like us.

“though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Phil 2:6-8 (ESV)

There are many reasons why Yeshua did all this; however, I only want to write about one of them. When He became like us, taking the form of a servant, Yeshua set an example to all of us who follow Him. If Yeshua, who had all glory and power, was willing to become a man, then we, who are born mere men, must be willing to become servants as well. This is a concept that few are willing to accept.

At the beginning of His ministry, Yeshua went through 40 days of testing and temptation in the wilderness of Israel. He experienced the same trials that we experience. At the end of the 40 days, Yeshua was tired, hungry, and sunburned to a crisp, while at the same time physically and mentally vulnerable to satanic temptations.

One of the fascinating parts of the accounts of Yeshua’s temptations in the desert is Satan’s offer of extreme earthly power. Satan not only tried to get Yeshua to disobey His father by eating during a fast, but also offered Yeshua a fast way to accumulate power and authority.

Yeshua’s response was to reject any path that did not come from His Father and not in accordance with scripture. His rejection of the satanic offer is an example and warning to His followers. If the devil tempted Yeshua, the Son of God, during a time of stress and weakness to shortcut the biblical process, then we will receive the same temptation. All of us, at some point, will be at a similar crossroads in our walk with the Lord. There will seem to be more than one path to fulfill your calling. One path will be the easy way; the other path will be long and arduous. Only one of the paths will be correct. One leads to the Lord. The other path leads to Hell.

Yeshua rejected the satanic path of quick fame and fortune. He gave up temporary paths to follow the eternal road.

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father Phil 2:9-11 (ESV)

The Sower and the Four Soils

Read the Parable of the Sower – Matthew chapter 13

This parable is about how the Kingdom of God is told to people. I have to admit that for a while I was somewhat mystified about this parable; at least a little mystified anyway. I am a bit of a linear thinker. A leads to B and that means C and so forth. I sometimes wonder why anyone would want to scatter their seed all over the place. Why not be a bit more discriminating about where you plant your crops. After all that is what modern farmers do. They plant their crops where they know they can get a high return for their investment

The problem with my thinking is that the L-rd doesn’t think like me . . . or you. What strikes me about this parable is that the sower (The L-rd) scatters the seed everywhere. Even in places that He knows might be unfruitful. I keep forgetting that the Lord deals with us with grace and mercy. He gives to us even though we don’t deserve it.

If you are hard as rock, as in the soil along the path, He still speaks to you about the Kingdom. If you have a life that is 3 feet wide but 2 inches deep (shallow), He still tells you about Himself. If your life is a confused mess with lot’s of worry and distractions, yet again He still plants the seed in your life. If you go in directions that are unfruitful, seeking after riches, He is still reaching out to you.

However, what about for those who have a life that is hard, rocky, thorny and don’t want to remain that way? What about for those who want a life that is good soil, that is capable of bearing much fruit? The answer, at least to me who is not a gardener, is a lot of work, suffering and pain. To change or improve the type of soil requires getting rid of the weeds that choke the soil, purging the ground of rocks that prevent depth of root. It might even require having a soil transplant, changing the type of soil. Do you get the picture?

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Matt 16:24-26 (ESV)

How Can They Tell?

“Then Moses said, “If you don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place. How will anyone know that you look favorably on me – on me and on your people – if you don’t go with us? For your presence among us sets your people apart from all other people on the earth.” Exodus 33:15-16 (New Living Translation – NLT)

This is a self-explanatory scripture (little explanation is necessary). I would recommend you read the chapters before Exodus 33 to understand them in context.

Rather than analyze what Moshe (Moses) did say, let us do the opposite. Let’s say of few words about what Moses did not say:

• He did not say- the size of our building sets your people apart from all other people on the earth.
• He did not say- the size of our community sets your people apart from all other people on the earth.
• He did not say- the amount of money we have (or spend) sets your people apart from all other people on the earth.
• He did not say- the number of ministries we participate in (or run) sets your people apart from all other people on the earth.
• He did not say- the amount of good works we do sets your people apart from all other people on the earth.

Let me repeat what Moses did say:

For your presence among us sets your people apart from all other people on the earth.

In a similar vein, Yeshua (Jesus) stated:

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. John 13: 34-36. (NLT)

Let’s say of few words about what Yeshua did not say:

• He did not say- The size of our building will prove to the world that you are my disciples.
• He did not say- The size of our community will prove to the world that you are my disciples.
• He did not say- The amount of money we have (or spend) will prove to the world that you are my disciples.
• He did not say- The number of ministries we participate in (or run) will prove to the world that you are my disciples.
• He did not say- The amount of good works we do will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

These things are not bad in and of themselves. It is simply that they should be the result of being in love with the Lord and walking in love towards each other.

Let me repeat what Yeshua did say

Your LOVE for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

Grow Up!

“Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Messiah. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? When one of you says, ‘I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?” 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 (New Living Translation – NLT) adapted

Saul (Paul) first visited Corinth during his second journey when he was setting-up and building congregations in the Roman Empire. When Saul wrote this letter to the Corinthians, he was at the end of his third journey. Therefore, when the Corinthian congregation received this letter, most likely several years had passed from his first visit. By this time, the Corinthian congregational community had deteriorated significantly.

Some of the issues Saul was dealing with in the letter include:

• People were bragging about following the teachings of specific people instead of following Messiah. They became proud of certain leaders at the expense of others without realizing that we are all part of the body of Messiah.
• They tolerated gross immorality. It was so bad that they were allowing things that even pagans wouldn’t tolerate. Making matters worse, they were proud of themselves instead of hanging their heads in shame.
• Members of the congregation were suing one another in civil court. Saul stated that when followers of Yeshua do this they are already defeated.
• They seemed to be inconsiderate, insensitive and thoughtless of other believers. It may have been so bad that they seemed oblivious to the fact they were destroying the faith of others.
• Their congregational worship was chaotic at best and so was their taking of the Lord’s Supper (Seder).

Simply put, they were not walking in love (1Corinthians 13) and they were not following scripture. In short, they were ignoring God.

In the midst of all this daily chaos comes a lengthy letter from Saul. It had been several years since they had seen him. They must have gathered as a group to hear what Saul had to say in his letter. Among many other things, they also heard something along these lines:

When I visited you for the first time you were new believers in Messiah. I couldn’t tell you about the deep things of the Lord. You were not ready for that. However, it has been several years and you should be acting like grown up people, mature followers of Yeshua. Instead, you are divided and fighting amongst yourselves, full of sin, pride and arrogance, inconsiderate and thoughtless to others. All I can say to you is: YOU’RE ALL STILL BEHAVING LIKE A BUNCH OF BABIES! SO GROW UP!”

The thing that keeps me sober when I read about the Corinthian congregation is how they so thoroughly slid into gross sin and didn’t even realize it or give it a second thought. They most likely started out making small compromises in their walk with the Lord. One compromise here, another one there. Each one may have seemed innocuous at the time, but a bunch of small compromises adds up to one giant compromise. Like the analogy of the boiling frog, they were killing themselves slowly but surely. Then one day the Lord Yeshua walks into the “room” and yells out: BY NOW YOU SHOULD BE MATURE DISCIPLES BUT YOU’RE ALL STILL BEHAVING LIKE A BUNCH OF BABIES!

Ouch! That hurts! It should.