Obedience
Mark 3:20-22 Then Jesus went home. Again such a large crowd gathered that Jesus and his disciples had no time to eat. When his family heard about it, they set out to take charge of him, because people were saying, “He's gone mad!” Some teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem were saying, “He has Beelzebul in him! It is the chief of the demons who gives him the power to drive them out.”
Jesus wasn't crazy, and He wasn't driven by demons. He was simply obeying God.
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.
Jesus laid down the perfection of existence...divine privilege...at the feet of the Father in heaven because He is committed to the Father getting what He called "very good" in Genesis 1:31...God face to face with mankind on earth. God has a brilliant process selected for this to happen which requires participation. Jesus was obviously a major participant!
Philippians 2:5-9 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges ; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,
Zeal for this idea is actually quite rare. Those with zeal for the process are often seen as radical, and this naturally makes people uncomfortable, accusatory, and even angry.
Zeal for God the Father to come back into the Garden...earth is actually His house, made for His own good pleasure... caused Jesus to appear crazy to the religious leaders. This is exactly what happened to David. David was zealously committed to God coming back into His garden:
Psalms 132:3-5 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, Or go up to the comfort of my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, Until I find a place for the Lord , A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
David did not want his zeal to cause trouble, but this was God's desire...to have David zealous for God, even at this great cost:
Psalms 69:6-11 Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me; Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel. Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, And an alien to my mother’s children; Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, That became my reproach. I also made sackcloth my garment; I became a byword to them.
This is what David got for his zeal:
Psalms 69:20-22 Reproach has broken my heart, And I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table become a snare before them, And their well-being a trap.
Jesus got the fullness of what David described and prophesied. Jesus bore reproach because He lived out David's words:
John 2:15-17 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”
Anyone who wants to share in Jesus' inheritance must also share in His reproach. In fact, to the degree you are reproached for this same zeal is actually proportional to the glory you will experience:
I Peter 4:12-14 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
This is what Jesus promised all of His disciples in the generation He returns to:
Mark 13:3-13 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?” And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He, ’ and will deceive many. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
Being reproached, brought before councils, and even arrested or "beaten in the synagogue" is a sign you are in agreement with Jesus. Being reproached for sin is not a good thing, but being reproached for zeal for God's plan to advance identifies a person with Jesus and is a sign, according to Jesus, of His near return and your agreement with that very process. It doesn't feel good, but it is actually a good thing.
Jesus is worth it. Better is one day in His courts than 1,000 days anywhere else. Jesus is more than worth the reproach that comes from agreeing with Him:
Psalms 84:10-12 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!
Offenses must come. But people that desire to share in Jesus suffering should be prepared to do it all the way. It is one thing to suffer and lash out, and another to do it like Jesus did. Lashing out now will cost you some of the Christ likeness now, and much of the glory later!
Keeping your heart soft is the key. Jesus looked at His accusers and even those who had hung Him on the cross and said "Father forgive them." When Stephen shared in Jesus suffering, He saw Jesus with His eyes! Glory!
Acts 7:54-60 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
When you are accused for being like driven like Paul, or zealous like David, or even being "mad" like Jesus, this is the highest honor in heaven, but you have to take it all the way and love like these ones, too! Then you have gotten your heart ready for the time of intensity AND stored up great reward forever:
Revelation 22:12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
Love is the key:
I Corinthians 13:1-10 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
Jesus wasn't crazy, and He wasn't driven by demons. He was simply obeying God.
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.
Jesus laid down the perfection of existence...divine privilege...at the feet of the Father in heaven because He is committed to the Father getting what He called "very good" in Genesis 1:31...God face to face with mankind on earth. God has a brilliant process selected for this to happen which requires participation. Jesus was obviously a major participant!
Philippians 2:5-9 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges ; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,
Zeal for this idea is actually quite rare. Those with zeal for the process are often seen as radical, and this naturally makes people uncomfortable, accusatory, and even angry.
Zeal for God the Father to come back into the Garden...earth is actually His house, made for His own good pleasure... caused Jesus to appear crazy to the religious leaders. This is exactly what happened to David. David was zealously committed to God coming back into His garden:
Psalms 132:3-5 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, Or go up to the comfort of my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, Until I find a place for the Lord , A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
David did not want his zeal to cause trouble, but this was God's desire...to have David zealous for God, even at this great cost:
Psalms 69:6-11 Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me; Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel. Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, And an alien to my mother’s children; Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, That became my reproach. I also made sackcloth my garment; I became a byword to them.
This is what David got for his zeal:
Psalms 69:20-22 Reproach has broken my heart, And I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table become a snare before them, And their well-being a trap.
Jesus got the fullness of what David described and prophesied. Jesus bore reproach because He lived out David's words:
John 2:15-17 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”
Anyone who wants to share in Jesus' inheritance must also share in His reproach. In fact, to the degree you are reproached for this same zeal is actually proportional to the glory you will experience:
I Peter 4:12-14 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
This is what Jesus promised all of His disciples in the generation He returns to:
Mark 13:3-13 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?” And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He, ’ and will deceive many. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
Being reproached, brought before councils, and even arrested or "beaten in the synagogue" is a sign you are in agreement with Jesus. Being reproached for sin is not a good thing, but being reproached for zeal for God's plan to advance identifies a person with Jesus and is a sign, according to Jesus, of His near return and your agreement with that very process. It doesn't feel good, but it is actually a good thing.
Jesus is worth it. Better is one day in His courts than 1,000 days anywhere else. Jesus is more than worth the reproach that comes from agreeing with Him:
Psalms 84:10-12 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!
Offenses must come. But people that desire to share in Jesus suffering should be prepared to do it all the way. It is one thing to suffer and lash out, and another to do it like Jesus did. Lashing out now will cost you some of the Christ likeness now, and much of the glory later!
Keeping your heart soft is the key. Jesus looked at His accusers and even those who had hung Him on the cross and said "Father forgive them." When Stephen shared in Jesus suffering, He saw Jesus with His eyes! Glory!
Acts 7:54-60 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
When you are accused for being like driven like Paul, or zealous like David, or even being "mad" like Jesus, this is the highest honor in heaven, but you have to take it all the way and love like these ones, too! Then you have gotten your heart ready for the time of intensity AND stored up great reward forever:
Revelation 22:12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
Love is the key:
I Corinthians 13:1-10 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
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