Luke 4:40-44  40 When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ. 42 Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; 43 but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” 44 And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

We gather together each Sunday to discover what Jesus is saying to us. I have read you some text this morning that have words of Jesus in them. But, what are they saying? Are we learning anything?

Let’s dissect it:

1. First, we are still in the early days of Jesus’ ministry.

He has already spent his 40 days in the wilderness following His baptism.

He does not have all twelve of His disciples until two more chapters in Luke.

Peter, Andrew, James and John have been called to become fishers of men and Jesus has already been kicked out of Nazareth for reading Isaiah 49:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight the the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed:
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

2. Second, it had been an eventful day the day before.

Jesus had just been in Nazareth on the Sabbath getting kicked out of the Synagogue. Very possibly our reading today is a week later on the next Sabbath. This is Saturday morning.

What is Jesus doing but teaching on the Sabbath again, but in Capernaum. What is He teaching? Neither author tells us but it was Jesus’ custom to teach on topics that amazed the people, truths to live by.

While He is teaching a demon possessed man starts shouting out who Jesus us and Jesus delivers the man. The demon is gone. This got everyone’s attention.

The worship service was over and Jesus, Peter, Andrew, James and John go to Peter and Andrew’s house. They live in the same house and Peter’s mother-in-law is there with a fever.

Jesus heals her and she waits on the five men.

While they rested that afternoon, possibly an afternoon nap, the rumor mill was hard at work. Word was spreading fast as to what happened at church that morning. By late evening people were gathered around Peter and Andrew’s house with their sick.

This is the first time that we have record that this kind of thing happened and this is just the beginning.

So, Jesus begins to heal the sick that are there, possibly by candlelight. Just imagine the time that it took.

Remember how long the prayer-line took back in February when the teens, after coming back from Acquire the Fire, prayed for everyone?

3. Third, the beginning of a new day

The next day, meaning that it was well past 6:00 p.m. that evening, not midnight, possibly after two to four hours of sleep, Jesus wondered off to pray.

Peter, Andrew, James and John are possibly woken up by more people wanting prayer, but they can’t find Jesus.
The search begins. To find Jesus they had to go outside of town, into the quiet of the country side. My guess is that they found Him in the dark because they heard Him praying out loud to the Father.

Oh how I would have loved to have heard what He had prayed.

“Jesus, sorry interrupt you but there is another crowd forming and they are coming this way.” The crowd was looking for Jesus just as hard as these four disciples were.

That is where Jesus informed the crowd and the disciples.

“I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.”

Jesus knew what he had to do. He knew what His purpose was and would not be sidetracked.

What is your purpose in life? What is God calling you to do? What has God put into your heart?

Jesus knew the first step of Him ministry because He spent time with the Father and received His orders.

You are a minister or a minister in training according to Ephesians 4:11-12 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

There is a powerful scene in Black Hawk Down. Lt. Col. Danny McKnight is in a fierce battle. The transport is filled with the wounded and there is blood everywhere. He yells at Private Othic, “You, get up there and drive!” Othic pleads, “But I’m shot, Colonel!” McKnight could speak for us all when he says, “Everybody’s shot!”

We all come with our hurts. We all come with our war wounds, and some wounds may even be fresh, but get up there and drive because everybody’s been shot. You are not alone with your hurts.

The fastest way to get healed from your hurts? Plan to get involved in what God has put into your heart.

• I don’t have time.
• I’ve tried before and it didn’t feel right.
• I’m not trained enough.
• I don’t have the finances.
• There is nowhere for me to meet.
• I don’t know where to begin.
• I have too many hurts.

Stop the excuses!

It was only a few weeks earlier that Jesus had not only been rejected by His home town, Nazareth, but they also wanted to kill Him. So, He traveled northeast to where His first few months of ministry is focused, around the Sea of Galilee.

2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. 4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. 7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” 10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.

What was the first thing Jesus did before any food was handed out? He blessed the bread. Notice, it does not say that He blessed the fish. Interesting.

12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.”
13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

What did they gather up? The leftover bread. There is no mention of fish being left over, only bread. Keep this in mind.

14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

What are they calling Jesus? A prophet? Why? Because He fed all 5,000 that were there, not because of the healings earlier. Notice verse 14 said that it was the “sign” that they had seen not signs.

15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

They were ready to make Him king by force because He fed them.

16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.

They went north up the coastline. Matthew says that they went to Gennesaret. Capernaum is a city in the region of Gnnesaret. It’s the Sabbath and they are going to the Synagogue.

18 Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. 19 So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. 20 But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

They were way off course, but when Jesus showed up into the boat the storm stopped and immediatly they were on short right where they needed to be.

22 On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone– 23 however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks–

Notice what they are still focusing on? Anyone can catch a mess of fish but who can multiply bread and serve it in such a large quantity?

24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?” 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” 28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

Obedience in God’s work begins by believing in Jesus, the One whom the Father sent.

30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ “

Do you see what was going through their minds? They believed that the greatest prophet who ever lived was Moses. And during Moses’ time bread fell from heaven for 40 years which fed Israel in the desert.

Jesus had just fed them the night before with bread that seemed to come out of nowhere. That was why they called Jesus a prophet. He produced bread like Moses did. Now they want to see it again. It was all about the bread!

32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

What? Moses didn’t give the bread. It was from God? Their theology is getting challenged.

34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

They want Jesus to be their Moses, to feed them, this special bread that gives life.

35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.

How can He say that they do not believe Him? Because they are not believing in the Son of God but a bread maker.

37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

Jesus’ focus was not His own will but the Father’s.

39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Believing in Jesus gives you neverending life and will be raised from the dead.

41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.”

Again, their theology is being challenged. Jesus is actually the bread, not the bread maker?

42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

It is amazing how connected the small towns were connected. Some of them possibly followed Him from Nazareth just weeks ago. Others possibly have family who live in Nazareth.

43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

There it is again, resurrection. He also gives a further insight – God draws people to Jesus. He chooses us.

45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.

Who has seen the Father? Jesus. He is telling them that He is different from everyone else. They claim to come from Abraham. Jesus is claiming to have come from God the Father.

47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life.

It is sounding more and more like the definition of this bread is not only Jesus but is everlasting life.

49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.

The natural bread God gave to Israel for forty years before finally entering into the promised land. It was natural so it had to be dropped down from heaven six days a week. Just as the sacrifices that represented Jesus and had to be made on a regular basis. Jesus was the final sacrifice and Jesus was the final bread.

51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

How many of you knew that the manna that fed Israel for 40 years was prophetic? You are in good company. The congregation at the Synagog that day didn’t either. This blew them away.

According to what Jesus was teaching, the manna was a natural sign of the spiritual reality. It was a sign of better things to come, Jesus. It was one of many signs in the Old Testament.

52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

He came down from heaven and now He says that we have to eat His flesh? They are not getting it. This teaching was much deeper and too much of a change than they were willing to make.

Plato’s Cave is an allegory told by the ancient Greek philosopher. In the allegory he tells of people who live in a cave who have been chained there since childhood. Their limbs are weak and their heads are fixed so that they can only look at one wall in the cave. Behind them is a fire.

Their captors carry shapes of animals and plants and other things in front of the fire so that they cast a shadow on the wall. The prisoners play a game of naming the various shapes, and when one of the people carrying the shapes speaks, they believe that it is the shadow speaking. They live in a world of darkness and shadows. For them, the cave was not only the real world, it was the only one.

But what would happen, Plato asks, if one of the prisoners is dragged outside? When he is first brought out, he is blinded by the sun and cannot see anything, but soon his eyes adjust and he sees trees, mountains, sky and flowing rivers. He sees, not shadows, but the animals and plants for what they really are.

He is enthralled by the variety of plant and animal life, the changing of night to day, the variation in temperature, the dazzling colors and smells of the earth. He returns to the cave and finds that now he can hardly see in the darkness. His desire is to free his fellow prisoners. He begins to tell the others of the wonder and beauty that awaits them outside the cave, but the others don’t want to hear it. They think he is insane and refuse to listen to his rants. In fact, they want to murder him.

Welcome to the life of Jesus. He came into our dark world and announced the good news of a kingdom of light, and that, in fact, he was the light of the world. He said he came to bring us peace, joy and life. He said he was the way to that life.

53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Here He mentions our resurrection for the third time, but now we are to eat His flesh and drink His blood.

Matthew, Mark and Luke all three give a detailed narrative of the Lord’s Last Supper. John does not. But this is John’s description of the spiritual side of the bread and wine.

But Jesus said in Luke 22:19 “This is My body which is given for you: do this in remembrance of Me.” Communion is a memorial of our salvation when spiritually we eat of the flesh of Jesus, the living bread, and drank His blood and we became what we ate.

55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven–not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”

They are living in a cave and can not understand. To understand you have to step out of the cave.

I fear that even some of us are still struggling with things because you have not fully stepped out of the cave. That is why faith comes so hard at times. You’re not seeing Jesus the miracle worker.

• materialism. You’re not seeing where the real value is.
• prayer meetings are not much of an interest to you. You’re not seeing the real power behind prayer.
• sexuality. You’re not understanding that spiritual implication of God’s love and faithfulness to only His. Therefore it brings in casual sex, porn, adultery, multiple partners.
• hatred. You’re not understanding God’s love.
• forgiveness. You’re not fully understanding our sin against God and yet He forgave us.

You see, it is all about the difference of seeing shadows and seeing the real thing.

61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

What gives life? Jesus is trying to teach them a spiritual truth. He is our bread and when we eat of Him we have eternal life. When your truly eat of Him you will not want anything else.

64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

Not everyone is willing to walk with Jesus. Not everyone is willing to allow Jesus to become a part of them.

Some people say, “Take Jesus with you” like you can decide whether you want to take your left hand to the store or leave it at home. If that is how we treat Jesus then we have not eat of Him.

Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” 68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” 71 He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

Little does Peter know that in less than 3 years he will deny Jesus and then go back to his “partying days” so-to-speak, his old lifestyle. But discouragement is that kind of beast. And because Peter had eaten of Jesus it was not hard to pull him back.

Because Peter understood that living in Jesus means living with a sense of adventure and a sense of wonder.

• Are you still experiencing adventure and a sense of wonder?
• What are you struggling with today?
• What are you missing today?
• Do you feel as though you have never fully walked out of the cave?
• Or, you have walked out of the cave but you are venturing back in because it was safer living with the shadows?

Mark 2:1-10

Matthew begins the ministry of Jesus in chapter 4 by sharing a very vulnerable and private moment in Jesus’ life. Jesus has been tempted at the close of His 40 days of not eating anything.

It was a private moment in that no one, not even Matthew was present to witness this. Jesus had to have been the one to have shared the details with His disciples. And why? Because it had a message.

It was a vulnerable moment in that Jesus was very weak in body from not eating for over a month.

It is from this story that Jesus related to the disciples that He did experience temptation. Satan presented Him with temptations that were very attractive to Him and, according to 1 John 2:16, fit within all three categories of sin:

• The lust of the flesh
• The lust of the eye
• The pride of life

Following this experience upon which He overcame temptation He began preaching throughout the northeastern part of Israel a simple message:

“Repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is almost here.”

In every Kingdom there is always a “King.” Jesus is that King and we are living in that Kingdom.

A few verses later Jesus calls the first of His disciples Simon and Andrew and He tells them that He will make the fishers of men.

What was the message that Matthew was trying to impress upon His readers early on in His book?

“It does not matter what temptations you have experienced or even fallen into, just stop what you are doing, turn away from it and be fishers of men.” In other words, get involved in the lives of people.

Not much time has passed between this story and what we have just read here in Mark.

This is a man and four friends that are on a mission. They have determination. They are presenting the obvious to Jesus.

The seriousness of the matter is evidenced through their willingness to carry the man and his bed up to the roof and rip back the roof.

But, Jesus is not always interested in what we feel to be the obvious. Why? Because the most important issues are not always so evident to us.

Ask yourself the question, “Why did Jesus declare that the sins of this man were forgiven rather than heal him?”

• Did this man’s sin cause his paralysis?
• Was this man carrying a hidden sin that eat him up with guilt that not even his friends knew about?
• Is it possible that He had heard Jesus message of repentance and, where his friends only saw a man who was healing the sick, this man felt a tug at his heart?

What Mark is presenting early on in the life of Jesus is that your forgiveness is extremely important to God.

That is why Jesus taught in Matthew 5 that if you are worshiping and remember that there is a problem between you and another to go take care of the matter, seek forgiveness from that person and then return to worship.

That is why Jesus included forgiveness in the prayer that He taught the disciples in Matthew 6 – Forgive us our debts and we forgive our debtors.

That is why, right after giving the disciples that example of praying that Jesus said that if we do not forgive others God will not forgive us.

This man was overwhelmed with guilt and Jesus wanted him to be free from his guilt.

It may not have been very obvious to the natural eye but it was very evident that this man needed forgiveness to Jesus.

Was the man healed? Sure He was. That was the second thing that Jesus did. Once he was forgiven then he was able to be in control of the bed rather than the bed being in control of him.

Instead of being dependent upon the bed he could put the bed in it’s place and decided when he wanted to use it.

Unforgiveness ties us to many things and throws everything out of order. Forgiveness gives you the ability to put it back in order.

Way back in Genesis 3 God asked Adam a question, “Where are you?” The question was not so that God could receive new information. It was for Adam to be honest with what was happening. God could have jumped right into accusations and punishments, but God knew that Adam would live with this the rest of his life. Asking him the question helped him to release it.

God knows the not so obvious needs.

He seems to have some disciples by this time but it is not the complete 12 as of yet.

The custom would be that someone would be asked to read from the Law or the Prophets, take a seat and share from their heart. On this special day Jesus was asked to read.

Luke 4:16-21  16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” 20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

To better understand what is going on here it important that we ask questions as to what is apparent and what is not so obvious.

• First, why did Jesus pick this verse to read and what was the context?
• Second, what was this verse saying?
• Third, what did He leave out of the scripture reading?

I. So, Why Did Jesus Pick This Passage To Read?
Jesus opened the scroll and read from Isaiah 61:1-2. This passage is known as the Jubilee passage.

The year of Jubilee was a law which stated that on the 50th year all land would go back to the original family owners, all debts would be cancelled, and all Jewish slaves would be released.

The context of the Isaiah verse is the captivity of Judah in Babylon as is being prophesied.

Isaiah prophesied that because of the sin of the southern Kingdom of Israel that they would be captured and moved to Babylon. But there was a time limit – 70 years.

Why seventy? Not only was there the year of Jubilee every 50 years but there was a year of rest every 7 years were no crops were planted to give the land a rest. But Israel forgot to do this for 490 years.

So, Israel was placed into captivity one year for ever year of rest they infracted upon – 70.

He is the Jubilee. Not a year but an era.

II. And, What Was He Saying?

There are four significant things He is reading on that day.

First, Jesus is acknowledging that He is anointed. The Holy Spirit is upon Him.

I’m going to take a moment and insert a pet peeve of mine. I have met many who will judge from one Sunday to the next as to whether they feel that the worship service was anointed, the worship songs was anointed or the sermon was anointed.

This is unscriptural. People are anointed for God’s service. Either they are or they are not.

Objects like a building can be anointed for God’s service. Either they are or they are not.

Actions are not anointed. We flow in the anointing.

But, Nathan, you do not understand. Oh, yes. I understand that scripture is anointed as holy and that I have been anointed to preach His word.

Jesus said that He was anointed. Do you think that He had days that He became unanointed?

This word literally means to be poured upon. The Holy Spirit was poured upon Him and He declares that He is anointed.

Second, Jesus was anointed as Prophet.

• He is declaring the good news to the poor or needy
• To proclaim the favored year of the Lord

Third, Jesus was anointed as Priest. His message mends the broken heart.

• He is sent to heal the brokenhearted or shattered inner man
• He is sent to give sight back to the blind

Fourth, Jesus was anointed King. He came to bring

• He is sent to give freedom to those imprisoned
• He is sent to set the oppressed free

So, what was Jesus saying? “You have looked for the anointed one. I am here.”

III. What Did He Not Say?

Jesus did not finish the rest of the prophecy from Isaiah because it will be fulfilled when He returns to this earth again.

Isaiah 61:2-3 To proclaim . . . the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

This is an example of a prophecy that covered thousands of years. The first half was written 600 years before Jesus fulfilled it. The second half is about to be fulfilled.

IV. What Were Their Reactions?

Luke 4:22-30  22 All who were there, watching and listening, were surprised at how well he spoke. But they also said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son, the one we’ve known since he was a youngster?” 23 He answered, “I suppose you’re going to quote the proverb, ‘Doctor, go heal yourself. Do here in your hometown what we heard you did in Capernaum.’ 24 Well, let me tell you something: No prophet is ever welcomed in his hometown. 25 Isn’t it a fact that there were many widows in Israel at the time of Elijah during that three and a half years of drought when famine devastated the land, 26 but the only widow to whom Elijah was sent was in Sarepta in Sidon? 27 And there were many lepers in Israel at the time of the prophet Elisha but the only one cleansed was Naaman the Syrian.” 28 That set everyone in the meeting place seething with anger. 29 They threw him out, banishing him from the village, then took him to a mountain cliff at the edge of the village to throw him to his doom, 30 but he gave them the slip and was on his way.

They wanted more proof of who He really was. How could this prophecy apply to little Jesus who grew up here? We were taught in class together. We played games in the field together.

I believe that it would be safe to say that Jesus ruffled their feathers just a bit.

V. What Does This Say About The Kingdom of God?

Should it not also be said of us that . . .

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

How can you say this? This was only meant for Jesus.

This prophecy was fulfilled in Him but then He built a team and got them involved in this ministry. If Jesus had a traveling ministry this would be His Manifesto.

First, preach – the needy need good news. This sums up everything – Are we sharing it?
-Give me an example of preaching or sharing good news to someone.

Second, heal -  there are shattered hearts who need healing. How do you heal a shattered heart?

• A ministry of presence
• Encouraging words
• Counseling
• A shoulder to cry on

-Give me an example of a ministry of healing.

Third, proclaim freedom -  there are those who are bound by debt, bound by anger, bound by guilt from mistakes, bound by addictions, bound by curses that they have believed all their lives. It’s time to set them free.
-Give me an example of a ministry of freedom.

Fourth, restore sight – we are people of the Word of God. It is our focus and our light. It is not up to us to have all of the answers but it is up to us to teach others how to find the answers in the Bible.
-Give me an example of someone leading a bible study one-on-one or group.

Fifth, lead – lead them away from the oppressors. For some people, oppression is all they have ever known. Pressures and injustice are our enemies. We may not be able to take them from their environment but we can teach them how to deal with it.
-Give me an example of someone who was overwhelmed by pressure and now feels free.

Sixth, proclaim the favor of God.

• We are living in God’s favor!
• We are living in God’s favor!
• We are living in God’s favor!

Jesus literally has bequeathed his peace to us. To have Christ is to have peace.

Therefore, in the life of the believer it should be abnormal to put up with worries, fears, anxieties and frustrations.

Now, I am not saying that followers of Christ will never have problems. Problems happen. Stress happens. Dilemmas happen. We are not trouble free.

Principle #1 Peace does not have anything to do with what we face. It has everything to do with how we face it.

If you were to move to North Dakota it would not be a question of whether you would see snow. It would be a question of how prepared you were for it.

God’s peace prepares us for all we need through troubles.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer (be confident, be certain, be determined), I have overcome the world.

Peace is our answer for tribulation and you should have it in your possession at all times.

• Peace should not allude you when you need it the most.
• Peace should not fade from you sight.
• Peace should not be easily run off from our lives.

Jesus told His disciples in John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

First, Stop It!

Understand that Jesus gave us the power or the ability to stop trouble from entering into our lives. He said, “Don’t let your heart be troubled nor be afraid.”

• Stop worrying about the things you can not change.
• Stop fretting over what others are saying about you.
• Stop feeling overwhelmed by piling so much on your plate.
• Stop fearing the bullies in your life.
• Stop feeling like you have to save the world.
• Stop the anxiety over whether you are a good parent.
• Stop the feeling of helplessness when life throws you a bomb.

There are a few things we tend to do that cause us to lose the control we should have over our troubled hearts.

• Secluding yourself gives you way too much time to let your mind dwell on your problems.
• Drawing conclusions from assumptions rather than facts will keep you away from reality. Your mind will make up the facts for you.
• Keeping focused on the problem rather than looking for the end of the problem will cause you to lose hope. Nothing to look forward to.
• Sharing the problem with everyone you know only rehearses the problem rather than releasing it.
• Finally, neglecting to share your problems with God causes you to miss out on the only One who knows the answer.

Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Second, Tell It!

There is only one who has the power and wisdom to take care of what your need is. Paul said to let your requests be made know to God. There is nothing wrong with confiding in someone else. There is something wrong with confiding in everyone you meet.

Some people share their problems to get help. Others share their problems just to emphasis that they have problems. It’s called a pity party.

• Sharing with someone you trust releases it from our spirit. Don’t keep it bottled up inside.
• Sharing with someone you trust can give you accountability to make sure that you are doing something about it and moving forward.
• Sharing with someone you trust may bring you some good advice, a prospective that is often hard to discover on your own when under pressure.

But, there is nothing like taking your need to God.

I have a cell phone. I pay for service. But, if I don’t dial a number it does me no good.

It’s when we dial up God that it activates that God gift that He gave us, his peace.

Principle #2: It’s when we take the problem to God that it activates the power of peace. It puts it into His hand and let’s Him be in control.

Third, Live It!

Philippians 4:7 again says and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Paul is giving us a glimpse into what the peace of God is like.

It passes all understanding.

• You can’t describe it.
• You can’t define it.
• You can’t explain it.
• You can’t make it up.
• You can’t mistake it for something else.

God’s peace is the real thing and it will sustain you. It will Guard Your Hearts and Minds.

John 20:19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

John 20:26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”

What did this peace do for Jesus?

Matthew 8:23-25 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are parishing!”

They told it the Master about their fears but they did not stop their hearts from fearing.

Matthew 8:26 But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

How did He rebuke the wind? Mark detailed it this way in Mark 4:39 “Peace, be still!”

This morning He is speaking to someone’s heart, “Peace, be still”

There are two steps there. The first happened when Israel was brought back from Babylon and the second happened in 1948 when, after 1900 years, Israel had life breathed back into her.

Isaiah 11:11-12 It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Again, God is giving insight into what was witnessed just over 60 years ago and is still happening, the second time to recover the remnant. Within the lifetime of everyone here new people groups who are Jewish are moving to a homeland they had never seen before. They are going to Israel.

And why all of this moving? God explains this in Ezekiel 36, the previous chapter. They were moved out of their land because of judgment. But, both times God moves them back to the land He gave them to show the world that He is God.

• So, Ezekiel 36 is about God’s judgment and then promise on Israel.
• Ezekiel 37 is the story of the valley of dry bones being resurrected.
• Ezekiel 40-48 is about a 1,000 years of God ruling upon this earth in peace. A temple will be built in Israel to God, not Ala, and ALL the nations, not just Israel, will worship there.

But I skipped chapters 38 and 39. What are they about. Those two chapters deal with something that the world is getting set up for. It will be a war against Israel. It is Gog and Magog coming against Israel.

What is so outstanding about this battle?:

• First, it is a battle that God will step in and fight for Israel.
• Second, it is a battle written 2,500 years ago about a nuclear war.
• Third, it happens after we are gone.
• Fourth, it is about to happen now.

Who are Gog and Magog? To discover this you would have to do some investigating into the writings of men who were historians at that time.

Because of the fact that the names of most cities change over time from one ruling king to another or from one invasion to another, rather than God using exact cities He is using the name of families. The names of ancestors do not change.

Hesiod was an 8th century BC Greek Poet who wrote of the Magogians and called them by Greek names, the Scythians.

A Jewish historian that is highly recognized is Flavius Josephus who was born about the time that Christ ascended up into heaven. He was born in Jerusalem of royal and priestly lineage. In his writing in Antiquities he writes the following:

“Magog founded the Magogians, thus names after him, but were by the Greeks called the Scythians.”

To give you an idea as to the power of the Magonians at one time, the Great Wall of China was built to keep them out. They terrorized the southern parts of Russia down to the Great Wall of China for 700 years.

The Scythian warriors were known for their archery skills. They were said to be able to shoot a bird in flight with the bow and arrow while shooting left handed or right handed on horseback

Over 2,200 years ago the Persians expected to crush the Scythians but the Scythians had a battle tactic that avoided such a loss. They would retreat deep into their own territory until their enemy wore down.

This tactic was also used in 1812 when Napoleon entered Russia, reducing Napoleon’s army from 453,000 men to less than 10,000.

In 1941, Hitler suffered a similar defeat from the same Scythian strategy when advancing into Russia.

Therefore, when Ezekiel speaks of Gog and Magog coming down against Israel he is speaking of Russia coming down against Israel.

Many of the ancient Hebrew words are used interchangeably today. In Ezekiel 39:3:

• Bow – also means the launcher of a weapon.
• Arrow – also used for the word missile.

When does this battle happen? Many believe that it will happen after the rapture of the church because the focus is on Israel.

Ezekiel 39:8,9 - What weapons will burn for seven years? When I was a kid I can remember taught that these weapons would be made of wood. But what wood burns for seven years? Nuclear weapons will.

It will take seven months to bury the bodies of their enemies. According to verse 14 they will hire professions to do this. In verses 15-16 if anyone finds a bone that the professionals miss they will tag it without touching it so that the professionals can find it and bury it.

Sounds like a procedure on how to mark a contaminated a nuclear sight.

So, what are the signs that this battle is about to take place?

1. All of the allies of Russia are in place but one and that is Turkey. Turkey has tried it’s best to join the European Union and even began as early as 1925 to adopt the western ways. Not sure what has stopped them, but it will not take much to put them back into alignment with the rest of the Muslim world. Russia is now Turkey’s second-largest trading partner.
2. Europe is becoming heavily dependent upon Russian natural gas with the completion of the Northern European Pipeline from Siberia to Germany. Europe is in no position to say no to Russia. Some say that Russia could become the third-largest exporter of energy to the US within the next two years.
3. Although Russia was a friend to Israel in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, she threatened to attack Israel during both the 1956 Sinai Campaign and the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
4. Just within the past few weeks the US, through Hilary Clinton, has closed their mouth to Russia admitting that it will help Iran in it’s nuclear effort we have told Israel to stop building in occupied Palestinian territory.
5. Putin, leader of Russia has been calling for Israel to withdraw from all occupied Arab lands back to the 1967 border.
6. There is a growing hatred of Jews in Russia. In 2005 a letter with several hundred signatures including 19 Russian parliament members was sent to Russia’s prosecutor-general comparing Judaism to Satanism, calling for Jewish organizations in Russia to be banned.
7. Russia has been selling SS-26 and SS-18 missiles to Syria which are satellite guided with a range of 180 miles, putting Israel easily within reach. The SS-18 is a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile with an enhanced seeker to hit aerial targets.
8. Many of the Hezbollah and Hamas terrorist groups are headquartered in Damascus. This is interesting in light of Isaiah 17:1 The burden against Damascus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap.”
9. With the help of Russia, Iran now has missiles that can reach Israel. From the mouth of the leader of Iran himself, he is looking forward to the day that Israel is no more.
10. This is a picture of an October vote of the Iran Parliament on their nuclear program 247 of the 290 voted in favor of the nuclear program by standing and shouting “Death to the United States, Death to Israel.”
11. In 2008 Russia opened their Syria port in Tartus for their naval fleet. This puts them next door to Israel.
12. Just reported a week and a half ago, Israel has found natural gas off shore and possible onshore oil. That indicates Israel’s energy freedom. The downside is that if the Arab world already feels that Israel has no right to exist then the resources it discovers is not her’s either. Tension keeps rising.

Is this Armageddon? I don’t believe so. In this assault the attackers come from the North. In Armageddon the come from all parts of the earth. In this assault there is no mention of a world leader. In Armageddon there will be a world leader. But, in both Israel will be the focus and in both God shows His might.

I believe that this war will kick off the 7 year tribulation and it will take a world leader to clean up the mess. Peace will be seen for 3 1/2 years and then the world leader will show his true colors against Israel.

If this first invasion is to happen after Jesus comes back to take us and everything is set enough that this battle could happen even this year, doesn’t that mean that He could return to rapture us out of here within the next few months?

Matthew 24:44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

So I

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group,  envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.  If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.  Let us not become conceited, or irritate one another, or be jealous of one another.

1. Read the underlined one at a time and explain what they mean.
2. Which of the two lists do you think are the easiest to do and why?
3. How do you feel when you have just said or done something you wish you had not?
4. What have you done this past week that could be described as desires of the flesh?
5. So, what purposes can you think of for walking in the Spirit, purposes listed in these verses and purposes that you have?
6. This is a thought provoking question; how great is your desire to Walk in the Spirit and what are you willing to do to make sure that your walk is in the Spirit daily?
7. Will walking in the Spirit change the way you worship? the way you pray? the way you plan your day? the way you treat others? The way you do your job? The way you do your schooling?
8. Is it possible to walk in the Spirit and not follow or agree with everything in scripture?
9. Do you want that change? What will you do to get that change?
10. Are you ready to “rip off the roof” just to walk in the Spirit?

What does Romans 8:5 say to you? Feel free to post the response to your family discussion(without giving names) and what walking in the spirit means to them and/or you.

Again, according to Romans 8:2, to walk in the Spirit brings freedom. In the natural it would seem that freedom is to just let the flesh do what it wants. In the spirit this freedom in the flesh is true bondage to doing wrong. Real freedom is found in the Spirit. To be controlled by the Spirit is true freedom.

This blog post accompanied the sermon videoed for the Sunday we were snowed in.

• Walks are healthy
• Walks with someone builds intimacy
• Walks with someone builds relationship

The Hebrew word for walk is hallak spelt in the ancient writings like this. The first letter is the Hey which represents the Holy Spirit but it also represents the word “behold” because of the picture of the man with his arms raised. The second letter is the lamed which looks like a staff. And, finally, the Kaf which is the palm of a hand.

Therefore, the ancient understanding was to walk with a staff in your hand.

Has anyone ever, while on a walk, picked up a long stick and walked with it? Children would possibly use it as a sword or draw with it. But as adults it often slows our walk down to enjoy our surroundings.

When Genesis 5 says that Enoch walked with God and Genesis 6 said that Noah walked with God, they did it with intent and purpose.

When Peter, seeing Jesus walking on the water, asked to walk to Him. I do not know how much thought went into it, but there was intent and purpose. To be with Jesus in a storm was safer than any man made object.

Listen to what Paul says in Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

In the next verse it offers the purpose, freedom.

To best understand this we need to understand what Paul was describing in the previous chapter. There is a war going on between wanting to do right and ending up doing wrong.

Paul says, when I want to do right I end up doing wrong and when I don’t want to do wrong I end up doing it anyway.

I can remember as a kid my dad asking me why I did that wrong thing and I would respond, “I don’t know.”

Boy, it that discouraging. In verse 24 of chapter 7 he writes,

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Then he gives the answer in the last verse:

I thank God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!

You see, Jesus gives us the power to walk in what is right. We can not do it ourselves.

Mikayla, my oldest granddaughter, will be 4 this week. She is always wanting to do things herself. She is very independent. There is nothing wrong with that until she is insistent on doing something on her own that you know that she can not do. A mess occurs.

That is the description of Romans 8:1 that I read at the beginning. It is an intentional purpose to walk in the Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit we tend to do the things that the flesh wants to do.

• The flesh will lead you to arguments.
• The flesh will lead you to hate someone.
• The flesh will lead you to do things that would hurt your parents.
• The flesh will lead you away from your Bible and prayer.
• The flesh does not enjoy worship.
• The flesh wants to sleep in on Sunday mornings.
• The flesh will bring thoughts or words to your mind that had not been there in a very long time.

Paul said in Galatians 5:16 that if we walk in the spirit that we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

It is a choice.

Peter chose to walk out out on the water to where Jesus was.

The friends of the lame man chose to tare off the roof to get to Jesus.

• When you worship, are you ripping off the roof to get to Jesus?
• When you read scripture, are you ripping open the pages to find Jesus?
• When you spend time praying, are you ripping back the doors of heaven to meet with Jesus?

Walking in the Spirit starts with an intent and purpose. Where is your desire? Where is your passion?

If you are not putting forth effort to walk in the Spirit daily then without effort you will walk in the flesh.

Although Peter had denied that he had known Jesus, in his broken state, when Jesus gave him his mission in John 21, Peter began to intentionally walk in the Spirit. It was evident in Acts 1 when he, for the first time, began to base what he was doing on scripture, Acts 1:20. Then he continues in Acts 2 when he preaches to the crowd.

Walking in the Spirit will bring the scriptures to life. You will begin to live them.

Ephesians 5:18 says not to be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit. It is all about control. Don’t let things control you. Be controlled by the Holy Spirit.

• I have most of the parts.
• I have most of the know-how.
• I don’t have all of the time in the world but anyone can find more time than none in three years.
• I have pictures of what I envision it to look like when I am finished. So, I know the goal. I have the vision.
• But, I am out of money, have been for three years. Feeding my family comes before working on a car.

Now, let’s step out of the worldly vision and step into God’s vision. Can there be anything more frustrating than walking with God, getting a burning vision and yet feel left with no resources.

• You have visions of supporting missionaries, but no money.
• You have visions of a building full of kids, but no building.
• You have visions of a jamming youth ministry, but no band.
• You have visions of sponsoring a camp for foster kids, but no camping site.
• You have visions of housing unwed mothers, but no house built.
• You have visions of teaching, but no students.
• You have visions of hosting a young couples ministry, but no babysitter.
• You have visions of a well equipped nursery, but not enough workers.
• You have visions of establishing a health clinic, but no facility.
• You have visions of feeding the hurting, but you worry about food on your own table.
• You have visions of ministering to hurting marriages, but yours has become rocky.
• You have visions of bringing neighborhood kids to church, but are out of space in your van.
• You have visions of building more classrooms onto our new church, but finances are tight.
• You have visions of writing a book on a message God gave you, but can’t afford a computer.
• You have visions of car maintenance for widows, but can’t afford to do it for free.
• You have visions of sharing your experiences with others who are hurting, but you have trouble talking in public.
• You have visions of writing songs, but you can’t find the privacy.

So, How do you resource your vision?

In order to properly resource your vision you have to remember 2 things:

1. It Is God’s Vision Not Yours

If God gave you that vision then it is not your vision but He has invited you to play a very special roll in His vision.

It’s not about what we can do or what we want to do. It’s all about who we are following.

There are two traps that people fall into: dreaming up their own visions or turning a vision of God and turning it into their personal one. They name it. They worry about it. They plan it. They control it. It’s all about them or that ministry or vision.

Vision is not about us. It is all about getting on board with what God is doing.

John 5:19 “Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does the Son also does in like manner.”

Can someone explain what that verse is saying?

The only reason that you get the vision in the first place, the only reason that idea began to burn in your spirit is because God was the one who dropped the invitation down to you.

Jesus said in Matthew, “Our Father, which are in heaven, hollowed by Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” When we pray for God’s will to be done, we are saying with Jesus that “I do not do anything of myself but what God is doing.”

How do we know what God is doing? It comes from our walk.

Lets say that in my reading this past week I came across the scripture where Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them: for of such is the kingdom of God.”

In my heart God would be convicting me to have the faith of a child and to have the innocence of a child. I was challenged.

But, somone else also read that verse this week and kids faces began to pop into her head, the faces of kids she works with every week. Then the children’s leader comes up to her on Sunday morning and shares with her in a conversation that she has a few new kids that are struggling with home life. She also shares her heart that she would like to try a Saturday Children’s Church once we move into the building.

Hurting kids sound familiar to her but she is limited in doing ministry in the school. But, she sees that God is bring hurting kids to Elizabeth and that scripture comes back to her. God is inviting Debbie to be a part of what He is doing.

She puts it off because she knows that she needs to drive a cab on Saturdays to help her with her finances. But, doing something more to help hurting kids keeps burning in her spirit. It will not let her alone. She dreams at night about it. She finds herself sneaking into Children’s Church to see those kids.

Understanding what kids love, she realizes that our new building doesn’t have a playground and there is no money in the church budget nor her budget to purchase one.

But, if this is what God is doing then she is along for the ride. She says yes to becoming God’s hands and feet and several yard sales and solicited donations later the playground is being built. All from that one scripture.

It is when you take ownership of a vision then we are taking it out of God’s hands and into ours. Our resources are limited. His are not.

Also, when you take ownership of a vision then we are directing everyone’s attention to us rather than to God. “Look at me! This is MY ministry. This is MY success. I am feeding people. I am healing marriages. I built this building. I built this crowd. I will name it after me.

What do you think is going to succeed best, doing your own thing with limited resources or doing God’s thing with unlimited resources and making sure that He receives the glory?

So, what do you see God doing that He is inviting you to come along and do? God will always resource His work.

2. We Curse Ourselves By Not Giving

Not only can we mess things up by trying to take things out of God’s hands but we can mess them up by not giving right.

• When we give of our own resources to God we are saying that God is in control and is our resource.
• When we give of our own resources to God we are rebuking the devourer.
• When we give of our own resources to God we are planting the seeds of God’s blessings.

First, in giving to God it is confirmation that He is in control.

God accepted Abel’s offering because it was from his first lambs, but Cain offered to God from his crop only after he was sure that he had enough to go around.

When Israel went into the promised land, did they get to keep the first city that was conquered? No. What happened when one man decided to keep some things from that city for himself rather than let God have it?

That is like saying that you’ll pay your tithe only if you have enough left over to pay the bills.

Who created those bills in the first place? Who owns the first 10% of income? What is better to live on, 100% of cursed money or 90% of blessed money?

Second, when we give of our resources to God we are rebuking the devourer.

Malachi 3:8-11 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house and try Me now in this,”Says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground. Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts;

According to Genesis, we are just stewards of what God has created and the FIRST 10% of our earnings are His. That is what was never ours to begin with.

Our offering is above and beyond the tithe. It’s a love tip to God. It’s our extra giving that Jesus says in Matthew 6 that we are not to let our left hand know what our right hand is doing.

When we do not give in our tithe and offering:

• we are robbing God
• we are cursed with a curse
• the storehouse of God’s is not full
• the devourer won’t let us live on the 100% anyway. He tries to take it all

When we do give of our tithe and offering:

• God’s house is full
• the window’s of heaven are opened
• God’s abundant blesses are poured down upon us
• God REBUKES the devourer
• the fruit in the field will not fail

How does this fit into God resourcing our vision?

• It is extremely hard to do ministry for God when we are cursed.
• It is extremely hard to do ministry when we are cursed.
• It is extremely hard to do ministry when there is nothing left in the storehouse
• It is extremely hard to do ministry when the devourer keeps you worried about making your ends meet, much less resourcing your ministry.

How many of you hate the devourer? Wouldn’t you like to see him rebuked? Get him off of your back. You can laugh every time you give your tithe into the bucket being passed around. As you gave, God just gave him a swift kick in the but.

But, did you notice what that last verse concluded with? The fruit in the field will not fail.

When Jesus was teaching the disciples how to pray He continued with the prayer by saying this, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

How selfish we are when we think that this is just about feeding our bellies. It’s about feeding the very thing that drives us. This is our provision in life and this is our provision in ministry.

You are either a minister or a minister in training. If you understand that God gave you the fire that is burning within and you do walk in blessing rather than curse, it is ok to pray for God to provide for your needs.

Success is not about planting a vineyard. Success is not about cultivating the vineyard and watering it. Success is harvesting the fruit from the vineyard.

Success is when there is fruit from your labors and God promised that when we are faithful in our giving that the fruit in our field of labor will not fail.

So, what do you see God doing? Watch Him and get ready to follow what burns in your heart. If I gave you the keys to a building and said to do whatever you want to do with it, what would you plan.

• Some would use the building for children’s events.
• Some would use the building for youth events.
• Some would use the building to do weddings.
• Some would use the building to do a conference once or twice a year.
• Some would use the building to host an all night prayer meeting.
• Some would use the building to start a satellite clinic.
• Some would use the building to for healing services.
• Some would use the building to host christian concerts.
• Some would use the building to provide meals for fellowship or for the hungry.
• Some would use the building for counseling.
• Some would use the building alone prayer time.
• Some would use the building for senior adult functions.
• Some would use the building to record messages to upload on the internet.
• Some would use the building to record music videos or dramas as an outreach.
• Some would use the building for a christian library and bookstore.
• Some would use the building as a place to bring friends and family to meet Jesus.
• Some would use the building to study and search God.
• Some would use the building as an office for their ministry.

What will you use it for?

What is burning in your heart?

What vision to you have that needs to be resouced?

• Adam walked with God.
• Enoch walked with God for 300 years and was no more.
• Noah was a just man and walked with God.
• Abraham was asked by God to walk with Him.
• Jumping into the New Testament their were twelve men who walked with Jesus for three years

It is here that we learn about a man called Simon Peter. He was an ordinary working class guy who was involved in the family business, fishing. He was brought to Christ through the invitation of his own brother, Andrew.

Within the first weeks into his walking with Jesus he experienced things that he had never experienced before such as:

• Teaching like he had never heard before.
• The healing of his mother-in-law.
• Amazed to see the blind receive their sight.
• Two men demon possessed delivered.
• A leper becomes healed of his leprosy.
• The words from his teacher come with authority. It caught the attention of the crowd.

If all of this is not outstanding enough, he is one of three who get to witness Jesus raise a girl from the dead and later speak to a storm on the water and it obeys Him. He wonders, “What kind of man is this that even the winds and seas obey Him?”

When you walk with God you will experience new things all of the time.

But, this is not the only stormy sea that Peter encounters with Jesus. You would think that walking with the Master would be a world of peace; nothing goes wrong and everything is quiet.

Not for Peter. And, in this storm Jesus comes walking on the water to them. He’s not sure what happened but something inside of him just wants to be on the water with Jesus.

Peter realized something, walking with Jesus ON the storm is safer than riding in a boat without Jesus.

It did not take long before Peter really realized that Jesus was more than a prophet. Somehow, a light goes off inside of his heart, “This isn’t just a great man, but the Son of God.” This was of those “aha” moments.

When you walk with God you will have “aha” moments.

But, remember that I mentioned the storms? The storms we will experience will not just be external, storms that happen around us. Some storms happen on the inside.

Just after Peter’s “aha” moment he had a potty mouth moment. He told Jesus that He did not know what He was talking about. Peter was not about to allow Jesus to die. Jesus had to rebuke, not just Peter, but Satan also.

How would it make you feel to have someone you respected greatly look at you and say “Get behind me Satan. You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

When you walk with God there will be storms externally and internally.

God’s ways are not our ways. They will not always be clear. They will not always give you that fuzzy feeling.

On another occasion Peter is one of three who are invited to go up a mountain with Jesus and experience one of Jesus intimate moments with God. Jesus was always known for spending hours before God in prayer, often in the middle of the night.

We are not given a glimpse into His private times alone with God, but on this occasion we are. All heaven seems to come down. Moses and Elijah appear before Jesus and they seem to be having a conversation.

When you walk with God there will be moments in your prayer that you will experience a bit of heaven.

It will cause you to become emotional.

• For me as a teenager I asked God to please stop so I could get some sleep before school.
• For some their knees get weak.
• For some they just begin to speak in tongues.
• For some they see a vision.
• For some they are overwhelmed with the urgency of praying or interceding for someone.
• I’ve even seen some that just laugh uncontrollably for an hour. I first saw this in the 1960’s.
• For some they take off running. As a kid I saw a man run on the backs of the pews and not one of them were anchored to the floor.
• For some they get to dancing and it’s like holding an electrical wire, they can’t sit still.
• For some they let out a scream because it’s like fire shut up in their bones.
• For some they feel like they just received a message from God that they believe that they could shout from the mountain. They are feeling the preacher stir within them.
• For some they just cry.
• For Peter, he became afraid and Jesus had to calm him down. You weren’t expecting that were you?

So much that Simon Peter has learned over the past 3 years or so and yet Jesus, once again, tries to prepare His disciples concerning his death they begin arguing over who is going to be the greatest in the Kingdom.

Right after Jesus tells the disciples He will be killed …. They start arguing about who is the greatest!

When you walk with God it does not make you perfect. The flesh will still try to pop up.

Jesus uses this as a teachable moment and takes a pan of water and goes from one man to the next washing their feet.

• The one washing their feet has preached to thousands.
• The one washing their feet has not just healed people from leprosy, but it meant that they were not confined to the leper camp but could return back to their families.
• The one washing their feet has raised at least three people from the dead.
• The one washing their feet has commanded the winds and waves.
• The one washing their feet has confounded the wise.
• The one washing their feet created the universe and now teaching them that He is not too great to serve others.

Peter has taken notes. He has been very vocal when he did not understand something. His loyalty was very evident, at least from his words. This Jesus has made a change in Peter. The walk was an experience of a lifetime. He would never be the same again.

The only disciple to have enough courage to follow Jesus from behind the bushes as He was being led into captivity. Peter really believed that he would fight to the death for Jesus.

Not always are we as clear as we think we are about our heart until our heart is put to the test. And, Peter’s was.

Trying to blend in with the crowd, Peter slowly shuffles over to a fire, still not allow Jesus to leave his sight. It was here that his focused mind missed the test coming up. Three times he was accused of being a friend of this man named Jesus who was now in custody.

Not once did it dawn on him what he was doing. Self preservation had kicked in and he was willing to lie to save his own neck.

It was only when the rooster crowed that he realized what had just happened. This is exactly what Jesus said would happen. To make things worse, when that rooster crowed, Jesus looked back at Peter in the distance as if to say, “See, you really did not know your heart. You thought that you would fight for me and you could not even refrain from denying me.

When you walk with God your heart will be tested from time to time to reveal your true heart.

Long story short, Peter, after moping for several weeks, even after Jesus has risen from the dead and he has even seen Him, finally makes the big decision to quit the ministry.

• No more following after Jesus.
• No more praying for the sick and watching them recover.
• No more casting out demons.
• No more catching a fish and finding his tax money in the fish’s mouth.
• No more dreams of a deliverer for Israel from the Roman rule.
• No more water walking.
• No more fishing for men as Jesus called it.

He was returning to his old lifestyle, the life that he knew best, fishing. Not only did he return to his old ways, he convinced a few of the other disciples to follow him.

What has happened to him? Has Peter backslid? Has he given up on God? Has he given up on ever having a calling or a vision?

No, Peter has finally become a broken man and has given up himself. Through his learning years he still had an attitude.

• He felt that he always had the answers.
• He felt that he always had to say something.
• He felt that he and his group had the only right to do Jesus’ work. They were the elite.
• He had great confidence in himself. He was a fighter, so he thought.

But now, the fight was gone, the answers had disappeared, his personal ambitions had been shattered.

Why is this a good thing? Does anyone know? It is our know-it-all attitudes that get us into trouble.

• We are not teachable.
• We assume things about people or situations before we have the facts.
• We are self reliant and independent.
• We have our own goals and dreams.

But when this has been shattered and we become broken it is then that we are ready to hear God speak.

When we walk with God, the sooner that we are broken, the sooner we will get a vision from God.

While Peter was on the boat catching nothing Jesus called them back. There are more details but I just want to get to the point.

Peter gets out of the boat, not with confidence, not with pride, not with vision and drive. He isolates himself from the crowd. He is quiet. He is ready to hear. He even acts as if he has not a friend in this world. That is the moment that Jesus calls him to the side.

Peter and Jesus have had conversations over the past three years before but this is the first time that it is just Peter and Jesus.

John 21:15-19

Jesus called the people sheep. Therefore, He felt like a shepherd who took care of dependent sheep who needed Him. Now Jesus is inviting Peter to take care of His sheep. This is a big responsibility.

This was not an assignment for all of the disciples, this was personal. It was vision casting. Jesus spoke a vision into Simon Peter’s spirit.

In his brokenness Peter now could follow Jesus in this vision. He had followed Jesus for more than three years but not with a personal vision. Now he has a vision.

When we walk with God, it is only in our brokenness that we will receive a vision.

For Peter it took over three years. For Paul, it took him only three days. Timing only means the point you are willing to be broken from your own pride and then open to hear from God.

If you are feeling lonely, discouraged, frustrated, unworthy this may be your Simon Peter moment.

Up until this point Peter spoke only his words. Now, with vision, his knowledge of the Bible becomes evident.

In Acts 1:16 Peter quotes from scripture for the first time that we have record of.

Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus:

Then in Acts 2, when he was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues along with approximate 120 that were in the meeting place, Peter begins to preach like Jesus did. He took the vision or call he had received from Jesus seriously.

Peter quoted from the prophet Joel along with David.

When we walk with God, have been broken, and have then received our vision, the scriptures will be revealed to us like never before.