GOT AUTHORITY?

GOT AUTHORITY?

I've spent much of my time over the past week in the gospel of Mark. The gospel of Mark is a glorious work of God-breathed theological literature.

The Bible itself begins in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Mark’s gospel, frequently cited by scholars as the oldest gospel, begins, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God…”

One of the signature features of Mark’s gospel is its rapid pace. There are no long genealogies, no long introduction to establish the purpose or occasion of the work. Mark even leaves out the entire Advent narrative and cuts straight to Jesus’ baptism by John. Mark’s “introduction” is virtually summed up in the first verse, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God…”

Mark’s purpose in writing is to unequivocally establish that Jesus is not only the Christ/Messiah (a term universally misunderstood by the nation of Israel in Jesus’ day) but also to demonstrate that - despite what the Jews may have believed - Jesus was not only the Messiah/Christ (title), but more importantly was the Son of God.

The use of the word “beginning” at the - beginning - of Mark’s gospel serves to define not just a new era (or dispensation), but the inauguration of God’s promise to be a blessing to all the peoples of the world through Abram (Gen 12:3).

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Eventually, humanity (that’s all of us who would ever live) rebelled against our Creator’s sovereignty in lieu of selfish autonomy and pride. The entire Old Testament is full of God’s gracious and patient efforts to disclose our inherent sinful rebellion - while simultaneously revealing His lovingkindness via mercifully enduring our stupidity, selfishness, corruption, blasphemy, and incessant rebellion.

All of those anticipatory external efforts successfully “failed.” Yes, you read that right. All those anticipatory external efforts - the Law, the kingship, the prophets, the temple, the priesthood, the exile… they all successfully “failed.” All those “efforts” by God were not alternative plans. It is NOT as if God Almighty had to keep going back to the drawing board:

• “Okay, the flood thing didn’t work. What’s next? Jesus… Holy Spirit… Thoughts???”
• “Hmmm. Maybe I should have given them 15 commandments.”
• “Come on Moses! Seriously? Okay now you’re disqualified from the Promised Land!!!”
• “Saul you idiot! I guess I’ll take the kingship from you and give it to... ummm... David.”
• “Great David, way to make me look bad.”

God’s exclusive plan “A” was always (see 1 Peter 1:20) to step down into time and space - into the depraved devolving mess of humanity - and personally redeem “all things.”

The depraved devolving mess highlights our ugliness and rebellion. The unfolding plot is NOT a blight on God’s reputation or sovereignty. The point of unfolding history is to demonstrate our depravity and hardness of heart while simultaneously demonstrating God’s patience, grace, and lovingkindness.

God used Adam, Noah, and the nation of Israel to demonstrate humanity’s (our) comprehensive depravity and wickedness. Throughout history we have, and continue to, resist, rebel, kick, scream… and like hormone-driven, know-it-all, entitled, pissed-off teenagers - DEMANDED of God that He “LEAVE US ALONE!” and emphatically implored “WE DON’T NEED YOU!”

So Mark writes, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:”

This is not merely another chapter of human history. This is the beginning of the new beginning. This is the inauguration of God’s reconciliation of “all things” to Himself by Himself - just as He’d planned from before Genesis 1:1, from before the foundation of the cosmos (Rev 13:8).

In the very first sentence Mark unifies the entire biblical narrative from Genesis 1:1, through Isaiah, to the inauguration of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who has come to reconcile all things and redeem humanity.

God created Adam

Adam preceded Seth

Seth preceded Abram

Abram preceded Israel

Israel preceded Judah

Judah preceded David

David preceded Ahaz

During King Ahaz’s reign the kingship and reverence for GOD devolved to the point that Judah’s king actually sacrificed his own son - whom for all Ahaz knew might have potentially been God’s Anointed One, i.e. the Messiah and universal blessing for ALL HUMANITY!

The nation of Israel’s continual, perpetual, incessant abandonment to wickedness reached its crescendo with King Ahaz:

Chronicles: “The LORD had humbled Judah (Israel’s southern kingdom) because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the LORD… Ahaz gathered together the furnishings from the temple of God and cut them in pieces. He shut the doors of the LORD's temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem.” From the book of Kings: “He followed the ways of the kings of Israel. He even sacrificed his son in the fire to another god.”

Because of Ahaz’s wickedness and relentless rejection and testing of God the kingship was effectively rent from human hands. Isaiah the prophet said to Ahaz, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and he will be known as Immanuel (God with us).”

Mark’s reference to Isaiah also discloses the prophetic and preparatory ministry of John the Baptist (Isa 40:3), but without distraction from the critical MAIN THRUST of the gospel: This is “The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:”

Everything from Genesis to John the Baptist anticipated Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Now that the Son of God is on the scene - God no longer needs human prophets to convey His message. Jesus, the Son of God, will fulfill the prophetic ministry personally and perfectly. Jesus will not wait for disciples to come to Him, rather He will hand pick His followers who will be “fishers of men.”

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will not be like the depraved kings, the pathetic priesthood, the wavering prophets, the external Law, the idolatrous nation of Israel, or the hypocritical religious leaders of Jesus' day (Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees, and Teachers of the Law) whose teachings were tainted and deeds misguided. No! Mark announces that Jesus Christ, the Son of God has come WITH AUTHORITY and Mark unequivocally establishes this REALITY in one brief chapter!

BAPTISM: Jesus’ baptism is not one of repentance, but one of divine recognition. Jesus is not appointed/anointed as Christ/Messiah/King by human hands, but rather by the Holy Spirit: “the Spirit descending on him like a dove.” Furthermore, at His baptism Jesus is identified by the Father in heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” The Christ/Messiah/King and the Son of God are perfectly fulfilled and unified in Jesus.

PREACHING: Jesus’ message is simple, “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Jesus is not referring to a temporal nearness, but rather a physical nearness via His incarnation. The kingdom is not “just around the corner,” but present in Him as the Messiah, the Son of God.

AUTHORITY: In 1:22 we read, “The people were amazed at his teaching. That’s because he taught them like one who had authority. He did not talk like the teachers of the law.” What can easily be missed here is the concept of AUTHORITY. Jesus didn’t simply impress people with His deeds. That’s not authority - that’s magic. I’ve watched guys like David Blaine, David Copperfield, and the TV show The Carbanaro Effect. Those guys are entertaining, but they don’t have AUTHORITY. Authority is when your actions/deeds correspond with your teaching/words. The teachers of the law had volumes of rules and regulations for every aspect and facet of life, but common folks saw how they lived - and the two things just didn’t line up. Jesus came and His actions of humility, love, compassion, peace, selflessness, altruism, benevolence, obedience, and mercy spoke INFINITELY LOUDER than His exorcisms, healings, and miracles.

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Some of the questions that Mark's gospel raises are these:

Do your actions of humility, compassion, peace, selflessness, altruism, benevolence, obedience, and mercy toward others effectively communicate Christ’s authority in and over your life? Is anyone coming to faith in Christ or growing in their relationship with Him because of you?

Does your life manifest the sovereign AUTHORITY of Jesus Christ, the Son of God? Or is it more like the impotent, self-serving, comfort & power driven lives of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day - the ones bereft of authority because what they demonstrated (deeds) didn’t line up with what the oral vomit spewed out of their pie-holes.

Jesus didn’t merely just call us to repentance. That was John the Baptist’s ministry. Jesus calls us to be disciples, followers, and “fishers of men.” Our ministry is one of AUTHORITY because we are disciples of the Son of God, because His teachings are our teachings, because His character is our character, and because His life of humility, compassion, peace, selflessness, altruism, benevolence, obedience, and mercy is what defines our lives.

When our teaching lines up with our deeds, then the kingdom truly is near, and Jesus, the Son of God, and His AUTHORITY is manifest in and through us. He truly becomes Immanuel (God with us) not merely in title, but in reality, and we literally become His good news, i.e. gospel, as God’s glorious blessing upon all the peoples of the earth!

So How about you? Got authority?

Blessing,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com

Audio version:

BIG BUTS

BIG BUTS:

We’ve got BIG BUTS and we cannot lie - not to God anyway. We’ve all got them, and they’re not attractive. In fact they stink. They reveal our narcissistic fascination with over-consumption, personal comfort, and self-gratification. They reveal what our storehouses are full of. We try to hide them behind thin veils of cultural and philosophical fabric, i.e. the flowy garments of self-entitlement, hip designer arguments of exclusivism, exceptionalism, and uniqueism.

“I know the Bible says _____________, but…”

Big BUTS were, are, and continue to be the source of our separation from God. They betray, expose, and affirm our intrinsic, inherent, innate, and ingrained nature of selfishness, autonomy, and rejection of God as Almighty Sovereign.

“I know the Bible says I should tithe at least 10%, but…”

“I know the Bible says I shouldn’t live with my girl/boyfriend, but…”

“I know the Bible says I shouldn’t worry, but…”

“I know the Bible says I should think of others as more important than myself, but…”

“I know the Bible says I should LOVE my enemies, but…”

The solution for most of us is to simply avoid God’s Word, i.e. the Bible. If we don’t read it then we give ourselves an out - right? If we don’t spend time with God on a daily/regular basis through reading, grappling, digesting, and allowing ourselves to be conformed to His Word - then we can live under the inglorious banner: “I’M IGNORANT - AND IGNORANCE IS BLISS!”  If we don’t bask in the glorious light of the SON, then we can plead our case before Him - right?

How much time have you spent in God’s Word over the past year? How many Bible verses do you have memorized? Do you know the characters of your favorite TV show better than you know the Apostles and Prophets?

In Matthew 7:3 Jesus told us in advance that to those who are content and comfortable with their BIG BUTS He will eventually say, “Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'”

Our hearts betray, expose, and affirm our intrinsic, inherent, innate, and ingrained nature of selfishness, autonomy, and rejection of God as Almighty Sovereign.

We’ve all got them, and they’re not attractive. In fact they stink.

What does your BIG BUT reveal about your relationship with Christ?

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com

BE SALTY!

BE SALTY!

In chapter 9 of Mark’s gospel Jesus ascends a “high mountain” where “he was transfigured before them” (9:2). While up there, Peter found himself terribly uncomfortable with Jesus’ transfiguration and the appearance of Elijah and Moses. So Peter did what any well-intending Christian would do; He ran his mouth. “Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah” (9:5).

There is a great serenity in communion with God. Things may be as glorious as beholding the transfiguration of Christ or as horrific as being strung up by piano wire (Dietrich Bonhoeffer), but there is no worry or fear because our relationship with Christ is unaffected.

As Peter, James, and John came down the mountain with Jesus, the LORD “gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead” (9:9).

In the ensuing narrative, Jesus’ other disciples had been confounded in their efforts to heal a boy who was “possessed by a spirit” (9:17). Jesus heals the boy at the father’s request, and at the close of this section we read in vv.28-29, “his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

In the next section we read, “They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest” (9:33-34).

At first glance the narratives of chapter 9 in Mark’s gospel might seem completely disconnected: transfiguration, demon possessed boy, Jesus predicting His death, causing others to stumble… but all of these are connected.

At the end of chapter 9 Jesus says, “Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Everyone will be salted, i.e. made useful and productive, via fire, i.e. the trials and circumstances of life.

Salt that isn’t salty is like candy that isn’t sweet, like passion that isn’t passionate, like fire that isn’t hot, or like water that isn’t wet. The category for those kinds of things is not only useless, but in Ancient Near Eastern, i.e. Jewish thought, something that didn’t function for its intended/created purpose actually ceased to exist in their minds. Existence went well beyond a mere physical/material existence to what the Bible refers to as being “sanctified” or “holy” (being set apart for the God’s intended purpose).

Everyone is salted through the trials and circumstances of life, but not everyone allows those circumstances to be the crucible of redemption and sanctification for God’s glory.

Peter was being “salted” on the mountain top. His response was to run his mouth and want to build a shed for God Almighty.

The disciples were being “salted” when the father brought a demon possessed boy to them. Their response was to rely upon their own efforts and skill - most likely trying to one-up each other, but ultimately looking like a bunch of sophomoric fools. Jesus came down and said, “This kind only comes out through prayer.” What other kind is there? They’d forgotten obedience to, and total dependence upon, God and wanted to show off their super powers while Jesus was away.

The disciples were being “salted” on the road to Capernaum when they had the opportunity to discuss, praise, worship, and glorify God, but all they could do was argue “about who was the greatest.” So Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?”

Jesus seeks to make us “salty,” i.e. useful, through the opportunities, circumstances, situations, triumphs, and plights of life. When we simply pray for deliverance, extrication, or mind-numbing comfort rather than to be made salty/useful, then ultimately we reveal our desire for autonomy and reject God’s divine decree, authority, providence, and sovereignty.

In the midst of your circumstances pray that God would teach you, lead you, and set you apart for His divine purpose. If you’re only praying for deliverance, extrication, and personal comfort - then you elect to be salt that has lost its saltiness, i.e. useless.

Ephesians 2:10 states, “For we are God’s handiwork, created anew in Christ Jesus for the good works God prepared for us long ago.”

Salt that is no longer salty is useless. That is not God’s handiwork. That is not regeneration and transformation in Christ. That is the rejection of - rather than willful participation in - the good works God prepared for us long ago.

Isaiah 55:11 reads:

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
   It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
   and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

The question isn’t “Are you being salted?”

The real question is “Are you salty?”

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com

What Words Reveal

Jesus said, “...For out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth speaks.” -Luke 6:45

If the “fruit” of your mouth is criticism, incessant badgering, fiery barbs, and snide comments, then your heart is rotten, because Jesus Himself said, “...an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.”

Jesus, i.e. the Living Word, knew His Bible. He was the one who inspired someone to write, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits” in Proverbs 18:21.

There is no amount of penance, gift giving, or acts of kindness that can undo hateful and hurtful words. The wounds caused by a sharp tongue may (or may not) heal, but the scars from those words endure.

Proverbs 12:18 states, “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Are yours the kinds of words that cause wounds or healing?

Ecclesiastes 3:7 tells us there is “a time to keep silence and a time to speak.” Are you someone who has to perpetually run your mouth and be heard, or are you someone who is always listening carefully so that you can hear, understand, and share words of life when the invitation or opportunity comes?

Proverbs 16:24 tells us “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

Do the words of your mouth flow from, and produce, the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control? Are your words gracious, edifying, sweet, and healing to those who hear them? Or are your words like a raging bull in a china shop - smashing, crushing, destroying, and sucking life?

Maybe your response is, “People are just too sensitive! I should be able to say whatever I feel inside.” The problem with that is exactly what we opened with, “out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth speaks.” A rotten, corrupt, evil heart is revealed through hateful words.

For us to say, “People are just too sensitive” is like saying, “You shouldn’t cry when I poke you in the eye with a sharp stick.” Wrong.

Getting jabbed in the eye with a sharp stick hurts. The smallest speck of dust in the eye causes discomfort and pain. The human heart was never designed by our Creator with “defense mechanisms,” because we were never intended to be the recipients or targets of criticism, badgering, bullying, barbs, or sarcasm.

Paul wrote, “and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Countless thoughts and potential comments, remarks and retorts fly through our heads daily. Scripture tells us that we must “take captive every thought” and make every single one obedient to Christ.

This task is impossible apart from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” If the Holy Spirit is not in us - then we cannot know God or His desire to transform us into the image and likeness of Christ.

But if we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within, then He will rebuke and correct us in matters of the heart and the words of our mouths because transformation and regeneration are exactly what God desires for us: “...be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Practice the art of listening - to God.

Practice the art of hearing people. This requires us keeping our mouths closed the majority of the time and attuning our ears to others.

Before ever uttering a word, take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.

Consider whether your words flow from a heart of malice and evil - or from one of love and grace.

Consider whether you truly know Him who is good and holy and if what you speak is a reflection of His will and character.

Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,

but fools are consumed by their own lips.

At the beginning their words are folly;

at the end they are wicked madness—

and fools multiply words.

-Ecclesiastes 10:12-14

What legacy are you leaving your children? Is it one of venom and vinegar, barbs and bitterness, sarcasm and scars? Or is your legacy one of kindness, love, compassion, and joy? What words of yours will they remember? Have your words today been words of life and love or words of destruction and pain? Were your parting words riddled with manipulation and malice?

Idleness in the face of evil is no better, for Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

What do the words you speak reveal about your heart?

More importantly, what do they reveal about your relationship with Christ?

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com

Not The Time

Not the Time:

Growing up my Dad made a little green and orange ceramic alligator with this written on the bottom, “When you’re up to your neck in alligators, it’s easy to forget that the initial objective was to drain the swamp.”

When it comes to being fiscally, or physically, prepared very few of us are. I recently read an article that stated “55 percent (of Americans) say they break even or spend more than they make each month, and a third have no savings.” Elsewhere I read, “More than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese.”

The dilapidated condition of our spiritual health, investments, preparedness, and participation in actual ministry is far more abborahant.

Since the calling of His first disciples Jesus’ followers have always been overly fascinated with how, what, and when. In chapter 21 of Luke’s gospel we read, “Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God… ‘Teacher,’ they asked, ‘when will these things happen? And what will be the sign they are about to take place?’”

Jesus instructs us that how, what, and when are insignificant in light of why.

In 21:8 Jesus’ response to our unhealthy fascinations begins with, “Watch out that you are not deceived…”

False prophets have come, gone, and will come again. To this Jesus says, “Do not be deceived.” Fascination with new prophecy, miracles, and teachings is the undoing of those obsessed with knowledge, power, and self. Those cravings and fascinations reveal the depravity of our hearts. When we are truly in Christ “our sufficiency is of God” (2 Cor 3:5) because as Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:3, “his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence.”

Wars, uprisings, natural disasters, and plagues have come, gone, and will come again. To this Jesus says, “Do not be frightened.” Fear can readily consume us and take our focus off the mission of God. Proverbs 21:30 reassures us, “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.”

Then in Luke 21:12-14 Jesus instructs His disciples, “But before any of this happens, they’ll arrest you, hunt you down, and drag you to court and jail. It will go from bad to worse, dog-eat-dog, everyone at your throat because you carry my name. You’ll end up on the witness stand, called to testify. Make up your mind right now not to worry about it…”

When, not if, things go sideways in life, and stuff hits the proverbial fan, Jesus’ disciples are to have been thoroughly prepared in advance through rigorous training so that our steadfastness - not deliverance - will testify to the sovereignty of God. The time for preparation is not in the midst of disaster.

Jesus’ brother James wrote about that very thing in stating, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,a whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let steadfastness finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Churches today seem fascinated with dynamic preaching, programs, and projects, but very few seem to take the ministry of equipping and preparation of the saints seriously.

Ephesians 4 tells us that the reason why Christ gave the church missionaries, evangelists, preachers, and pastor-teachers is “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.” It’s not to increase attendance, not to build a bigger facility, not to entertain, but “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.”

Since most people spend 167 of their 168 hours of each week (99% of their time) outside the walls of the church it’s safe to say that the vast majority of a church’s impact and influence (i.e. ministry) rightfully happens out there. Is that what church budgets reflect? Are the vast majority of our resources going to the 1% of time spent inside the walls or the 99% of time spent outside the walls?

Many churches struggle to get more than 5% of their congregation to participate in ministry/service of any capacity - and they merely accept it. It’s as if church leaders have conceded “Well, as long as we have greeters, baby sitters, donuts, coffee, and an entertaining sermon - and people keep giving. I guess that’s all we can hope for.”

Keeping the lights on for the sake of production is not the ministry Christ call His Bride to engage in. He gave His Bride missionaries, evangelists, preachers, and pastor-teachers “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.”

Is that the emphasis of your church? Is every member - from the Senior Pastor, Elders, staff, and interns to volunteers - keenly aware of, and involved in, the ministry of being equipping the saints for ministry? Or is your church one that simply caters to a predominantly superficial Christian crowd for 1 hour a week? Is your church fearful that if we really challenge people too much outside of their comfort zone, if we actually taught the Word too convincingly, if we literally rebuke and correct, and sincerely train people up in righteousness - then we might just lose our financial backers, our project benefactors, and jettison our security and retirement.

When the emphasis shifts from equipping the saints to entertaining the crowd, churches take gradual, subtle, and fatal steps down the road of accommodation.

One obvious symptom is that there are fewer and fewer volunteers and more staff. This frequently happens because staff are easier to control and manipulate through wages and organizational structures while volunteers simply stop participating.

When the people of God aren’t being equipped, not given opportunities to serve the Body of Christ, and aren’t being mobilized for the work of ministry, then their spiritual vigor is depleted. There will always be a newer facility with more modern equipment and more attractive lures. But when we are committed to the mission of God and the ministry of serving and equipping His saints for ministry - there can never be a more faithful, committed, obedient, or holy church.

There are countless things in and of the world to steal away our attention. Is your church imploring, compelling, and inspiring people to become equipped for the work of ministry? Is your church actively equipping and preparing you for the trials of life, so that your steadfastness in the midst of turmoil and tragedy will serve as the testimony of Christ’s grace and goodness? Or are the church leaders more concerned with how much people give, what the buildings are decorated with, and when things will transpire?

Maybe a good personal litmus test regarding your preparedness and participation in the Body of Christ is to ask yourself, “If I didn’t show up this Sunday, would anybody notice?” If you’re merely consuming, critiquing, and complaining, but never doing anything to serve/minister to others - the answer is probably no.

In the midst of turmoil and tragedy it’s easy to forget your purpose and testimony. That’s not the time for equipping, but rather the time for steadfastness in Christ.

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com