Jesus: His Authority

In U.S. Navel Institute Proceedings, the magazine of the Naval Institute, Frank Koch illustrates the importance of obeying the Laws of the Lighthouse. Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.

Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, “Light, bearing on the starboard bow.”  "Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out.  The lookout replied, "Steady, Captain," which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.

The captain then called to the signalman, "Signal that ship: 'We are on a collision course, advise you change course twenty degrees.'"  Back came the signal, "Advisable for you to change course twenty degrees."   The captain said, "Send: "I'm a captain, change course twenty degrees.'"  "I'm a seaman second-class," came the reply. "You had better change course twenty degrees."

By that time the captain was furious. He spat out, "Send: 'I'm a battleship. Change course twenty degrees.'"   Back came the flashing light, "I'm a lighthouse."

We changed course.  (Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, Word Publishing, 1991, p. 153.)

The Jewish leaders criticized Jesus for “working” on the Sabbath when he healed an invalid and commanded him to take up his mat and walk.  But he defended himself by revealing where his authority to do such a thing came from: the Father.

The captain of the battleship above made the mistake of believing he had the greatest authority over all things on the water.  Once his mistake was revealed he quickly and rightly gave way to the authority of the lighthouse.  We too must realize that Christ’s authority over us is supreme and comes directly from the Father.

Join us this week as we hear about Christ’s authority given by the Father and how His authority should affect our life as His disciples.  May we all be prayerfully prepared to hear the Word of God and allow His truth to teach us, mold us, and change us as His people.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Mark

J.C. Ryle: Pray for the Ministers of Christ

"Let me [give] an earnest request that all who pray will never forget to make supplications and prayers and intercession for the ministers of Christ, that they're never may be wanting a due supply of them at home and in the mission field, that they may be kept sound in the faith and holy in their lives, and that they may take heed to themselves as well as to the doctrine (1 Tim. 4:16).

"Oh, remember that while our office is honorable, useful and scriptural, it is also one of deep and painful responsibility!  We watch for souls as those who must give account at the judgment day (Heb. 13:17).  If souls are lost through our unfaithfulness, their blood will be required at our hands.  If we had only to read services and administer sacraments, to wear a peculiar dress and go through a round of ceremonies and bodily exercise and gestures and postures, our position would be comparatively light.  But this is not all.  We have got to deliver our Master's message, to keep back nothing that is profitable, to declare all the counsel of God.  If we tell our congregations less than the truth or more than the truth, we may ruin forever souls.  Life and death are in the power of the preacher's tongue.  'Woe is unto us if we preach not the gospel!' (1 Cor. 9:16).

"Once more I say, pray for us.  Who is sufficient for these things?  Remember the old saying of the fathers: 'None are in more spiritual danger than ministers.'  It is easy to criticize and find fault with us.  We have a treasure in earthen vessels.  We are men of like passions with yourselves, and not infallible.  Pray for us in these trying, tempting, controversial days, that our church may never lack bishops, priests, and deacons who are sound in the faith, bold as lions, 'wise as serpents, and yet harmless as doves.' (Matt. 10:16).  The very man who said, 'Grace is given me to preach,' is the same man who said, in another place, 'Pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified . . . and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men for all men have not faith.' (2 Thess. 3:1-2)."

The Power of Jesus Over Sin

“Lord Kenneth Clark, internationally know for his television series Civilization, lived and died without faith in Jesus Christ. He admitted in his autobiography that while visiting a beautiful church he had what he believed to be an overwhelming religious experience. ‘My whole being,’ Clark wrote, ‘was irradiated by a kind of heavenly joy far more intense than anything I had known before.’ But the ‘gloom of grace,’ as he described it, created a problem. If he allowed himself to be influenced by it, he knew he would have to change, his family might think he had lost his mind, and maybe that intense joy would prove to be an illusion. So he concluded, ‘I was too deeply embedded in the world to change course.’ (Our Daily Bread, February 15, 1994.)”

Lord Clark waited too long.  He didn’t heed the words of Christ, “Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”  In Lord Clark’s case, the “worse” was eternal separation from God’s presence.

Join us this week at ElmCreek Community Church as we read the words of John 5:1-15 and witness the power of Christ over sin.  May we prayerfully be prepared to encounter His Truth found in His Word.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Pastor Mark

Seeking Jesus on His Terms

What does faith look like?  How does that faith begin?  What catalyst begins that journey of faith?  How can we know our faith is genuine?  What does Jesus say about genuine faith?  What is the object of our faith?

As I studied John 4:43-54 these are the questions that continued to run through my mind.  The question of genuine faith is not a subject new to us in the book of John.  After cleansing the temple and doing more signs and wonders in the presence of others, many came to believe in his name (John 2).  But Jesus would not entrust himself to them because he knew their hearts.  Their faith was not genuine.  So, can one believe without believing?  Can genuine, prolonged faith rest upon the miraculous?

 

Heed the words of Oswald Chambers:

“Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace” (Oswald Chambers in Run Today's Race).

Join us this week as we once again look at a great sign of Jesus, the healing of a boy from miles away.  May the Word of God and the Spirit of God speak to each of us, growing us in our faith, and prepare us for His call for our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Pastor Mark