Mark 7:31 - May 21, 2010

Mark 7:31 “Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.

33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means, "Be opened!"). 35 At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.”

Talk about diversity! This miracle in the life of Jesus is a perfect illustration of 1 Cor 12:4-6 which states “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.” Jesus has demonstrated many different expressions of the gift of healing. He has healed by authoritative command. He has healed by addressing demons. He has healed by laying hands on someone. But this example of Jesus ministry approach is an entirely new model for us to learn from.

In this passage Jesus is approached by a group of people who bring a deaf and partially mute man to Jesus to be healed. His ministry process is a demonstration of the practical considerations of personal ministry from the beginning. He recognizes the fact that the primary issue in need of ministry is this man’s deafness, but He is surrounded by a crowd of people who have come to witness His ministry. As a result He pulls the man aside, away from the crowd. The need is auditory so He seeks out a place where the man’s auditory and verbal capacities can be better tested. Too often many people today seek to apply faith without the practical consideration of context. Does the setting meet the need? Jesus is fundamentally practical in His approach to ministry. Very seldom do you see His dealings with the masses manifest any significant mystical qualities. For the most part He reserves those events such as walking on water, calming the storm, and being transfigured before them for His inner circle.

In this case however, Jesus moves directly from the practical to the unusual! Having secured a quieter spot Jesus now spits and uses the spit to touch the man’s tongue! Imagine anyone doing that in today’s church culture. If you were to do that today the person better be healed or it might be you who needs a miracle! (Just a thought!) Today’s ministry culture has developed its own acceptable forms and expressions for the Holy Spirit and it is amazing how reactionary the church can be when someone dares to step out of the accepted religious form. At this moment in Jesus’ life He is completely outside the box of religious protocol and yet completely in line with the Holy Spirit. 1 Co. 12:6 that we referenced earlier makes it clear that “there are different kinds of workings but the same God works all of them.”

Perhaps it would be valuable to use this miracle to emphasize a point. Many people relate to the scriptures from a fear based perspective. Fear of deception causes them to cling to the word of God as the limitations of what God can do. This miracle in the life of Jesus leads us to consider the possibility that we would be benefited to approach the scriptures from a different paradigm, a different point of view. When Jesus steps outside of the norms of our comfortable views of Christian experience perhaps His goal is to establish within our understanding the fact that the scriptures are examples of what God can do and how he works, NOT the limits of them. Fear would cause us to take any mystical expression of God that does not fit exactly the examples presented in scripture and respond to it as a deception.

How much bigger is God than our limited minds can comprehend? Have we made God to small by our fear orientations? God will never violate His character. God’s principles are sure and secure. And yet scripture also says Isa 55:9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Rather than stumbling over the means of the Holy Spirit’s ministry why not focus on judging the fruit. Jesus clarified this issue and established a simple test for us in Matt 7:18-20 “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” What has taken place in the life of the one who is touched by the experience?

Mark 7:27-30 - May 20, 2010

Mark 7:27-30 "First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." 28 "Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29 Then he told her, "For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter." 30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.”

Do faith and desperation compel you to God? Mark 7:27-30 is a dramatic confrontation of faith. As we continue to look at this miracle of deliverance brought about by the desperate appeal of a mother whose little daughter is bound by demonic spirits it is Jesus’ response that is a most agitating beginning to this exchange.

Here is a Gentile looking to Jesus in desperate pain, seeking mercy on behalf of her daughter. Normally it was not considered religiously correct for a Jewish man to minister to a Gentile woman but all of this seems to progressively fall to the side in the midst of this bold faith exchange between Jesus and a mother in anguish. Jesus’ initial response to her cries for help is a religious one. Imagine Jesus saying to you “it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” For most of us this would be enough to turn us away. Our hearts would respond in offense and insecurity and withdraw into a dead acceptance of our fate or the fate or our loved ones. But what was Jesus after? Could he have been using this statement to search her heart? Both Ja. 4:6 and I Pe. 5:5 state that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” You mean that even in the midst of our most desperate times of need God may still be testing our hearts and our faith? Abosolutely!

Consider the fact that every miracle that Christ performed sent a message about God. Consider the foundation for future faith amongst all believers who would ever follow that was being laid during this season of Christ’s ministry. If this woman was coming in a proud and demanding spirit how could Christ have met her cries with the desired miracle and not have laid a wrong foundation for the church of the future? Jesus is a master builder and in every situation, through every act, He is planting seeds for the future of His purposes in the earth.

The good news is that this woman passes the test. No act of bravery was required. No feet of strength or demonstration of genius would have been enough to see this miracle performed. The only response that Jesus was looking for was a response of faith and humility! And this Jesus found on that day near Tyre. The telling of this story in Matt 15:28 enlarges upon Jesus’ response just enough to identify His joy over the condition of her heart. He says directly "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." She could have been offended. She could have walked away. But instead she persisted before God in Christ with faith and humility and moved Jesus to do all that she had desired. Will you pass the test when the Lord responds to you in an unexpected way? Do not faint. Do not be turned away? It is God’s pleasure to move whenever He finds faith and humility dwelling together in simplicity!

Mark 7:24 - May 19, 2010

Mark 7:24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

What is intercession? What does it mean to stand in the gap for another? This passage is a tremendous image of a heart of intercession. To stand in the gap is to take the burdens of another, whether an individual or a people group and bring them before the presence of God in search of divine intervention. Mark 7:24-26 is such a powerful revelation of true humility and faith before God.

This Greek woman was not someone who would have naturally been compelled to seek out a Jewish religious figure in search of mercy. Her national and spiritual background was of such opposite nature that Jesus initially refers to her as a dog. What sets this woman apart from all other Greek women on this particular day is the power of her desperation. She is not just a Greek woman on this day. She is a mother! She is a mother whose daughter is bound by an evil spirit that is tormenting her and the pain of seeing her daughter in such a condition is all that she can see at this moment, not national allegiances or spiritual distinction.

This is a remarkable story that begins with Jesus actually seeking a bit of time away from the crowds. Verse 24 tells us that He entered a home near Tyre seeking to keep His presence a secret. Even Jesus needed an occasional moment away from the masses. But it was not to be. Fueled by her pain this desperate mother heard a rumor that Jesus was near and her need compelled her to go, a need not for her own life but for the life of her daughter. Oh, the compelling power of the presence of God. Here is a woman who hears that Jesus is present. Here is a woman who realizes that if she can just find the presence of God in Christ that there is hope for her daughter. There is hope that she can move the heart of God and receive the miracle that she needs. This is a picture of intercession.

Intercession is a search for the presence of God. Where the presence of God is there is power. Where the presence of God is there is wisdom. Where the presence of God is there is compassion. It is this hope that moves this desperate mother to make that search. For this mother this is not a time for pride. She is not worried about holding on to her dignity. All she can see is the pain in her daughter’s life and the presence of God that is near enough to restore her hope of a breakthrough. She has no agenda for herself. She has come before God in Christ carrying only one burden, the burden of her daughter’s suffering. Oh, that we would find this place before God today! Oh, that the church would find this desperation when we pray! Is there a place in your heart to bear the burdens of another in prayer? Is there anything that has touched your life so deeply with the pain of others that you will make this journey yourself, that will cause you to undertake the search that this woman embraced willingly? God is looking for intercessors.

Ezek 22:30 tells us what God is looking for "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land.” He is looking for those who will take up the burden and stand in the place between life and death. God is searching for those who will be the difference makers, who will take a stand on behalf of those who are bound and dying. He is looking for those who will let their hearts be touched on such a level that the need compels them to step forward in humility and seek out the help of heaven until breakthrough comes and hope is rekindled. Will you be that person for God?

Mark 7:20-23 - May 18, 2010

Mark 7:20-23 “He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21 For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.'"

What is coming out of you? Jesus has taken His disciples on an insightful journey through a redefining of the nature of purity and holiness. He has exposed the religious hypocrisy that has blinded the spiritual leaders of the day to their own damaged spiritual condition. He has called the people of God back to a place of esteeming the word of God over the traditions of men. And now He concludes this sequence of events and instruction with a pointed statement that gets to the heart of the matter.

Stop focusing on the externals! Jesus makes it clear through this passage the a man can look good on the outside and still be unclean on the inside. Through this simple teaching Jesus redirects the focus of purity away from external rituals to a place of honest self-examination of the inner-man. The phrase “what comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean’” is a powerful call to examine our lives. Food is not the issue, forms are not the issue, fruit is the issue! What kind of fruit is flowing out of your inner man? What is the condition of your heart!? This is the test of purity or cleanness. This is the test of a righteous life.

Jesus points us to the heart where evil thoughts produce the evil fruit of immorality, theft, murder, adultery and more. These evil acts that Jesus references flow out of the evil thoughts that are dominating a heart. His point is that no amount of religious washing, tradition keeping, psalm reading, or prayer praying can help us if we have not made a commitment to confront the condition of our hearts.

In Verse 23 Jesus closes this section by saying “all these evils come from inside a man and make him unclean.” These words call us to look inside. What is the state of your heart? They call us to go deeper with a deeply rooted honesty and look at what is going on inside of us. Are the thoughts that you are giving place to producing an unclean heart? What naturally flows out of you when you find yourself in various situations? Is it lust, maybe anger, how about greed or impatience? Jesus calls us to live from a foundation of truth in the inward parts that does not put on a religious performance around the people of God and yet cling to the things of the world when we are away from that crowd.

The world needs to see a people who have been transformed by an embrace of honesty in the inward man. Jesus identifies true worship in John 4 as worship that takes in Spirit and in truth. Paul develops this theme further in Ro.12 when he calls the church to worship the Lord by presenting ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable. It is a holy life that most honors God. The Psalmist also states in Ps 32:2 ‘Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.” Ask the Lord to deliver you from any self-deception that would cause you stand before the Lord with hypocrisy in your heart. Present your whole life to the Lord as an act of love and invite Him to show you the areas of growth and change that will make your every thought, word and deed a pleasing sacrifice to Him

Mark 7:17 - May 17, 2010

Mark 7:17 ”After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 "Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? 19 For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")”

What happens after the crowds leave? This passage is an insightful glimpse into the relationship Jesus had with His disciples. Jesus has just completed a rather intense confrontation with the Pharisees followed by a short lesson to the multitudes. In light of the volatile relationship that Jesus maintained with the religious leaders of the day it is certain that this was a tense and potentially stressful. Yet Jesus is still available to speak into the hearts of His disciples. He doesn’t seek refuge in solitary prayer on this occasion. Nor does He seek rest by sleeping in the boat on the way to a new destination.

It appears that as a result of this encounter where He has so directly confronted the religious hypocrisy of the Pharisees that He is still fired up with passion to see truth restored. This passion is in His voice as He responds to the questioning of His disciples. He is very direct and even short it seems as He holds back nothing in this exchange. “Are you so dull?” he asks them directly. “Don’t you see…?” He presses them. Imagine the blow this must have been to the hearts of the disciples as their master corrects them for their slow and insensitive reaction to what He has been teaching. How many times has each one of us been that disciple who doesn’t catch on? How many of us have deserved that stinging rebuke as the words of Jesus speak so clearly to us and yet we do not understand?

Jesus relates to the word of God and to life in such a practical way. In His response to both the Pharisees and His deeper explanation to the disciples Jesus blows away the religious cloud that distorts their interpretation of the commands of scripture. In these two simple verses Jesus gives a science lesson, teaches on the nature of the heart of man and reinterprets their relationship to all foods. “Nothing that enters a man from the outside can make Him ‘unclean?’” This little phrase achieves much as it states that the issue of sin and cleanness before God is a matter of the inner man not the exterior forces of life that we encounter.

Jesus causes His disciples to think practically about food and how it passes through the body. In doing so He also addresses the subject of food. It is not the food that makes the glutton, nor the alcohol that makes the drunkard. It is the person’s relationship with those things, how they respond to them within their hearts that makes someone clean or unclean. What we lust for or crave, those things that we attach emotional comfort to, those things that we relate to in an addictive way, it is these that result in uncleanness. This is not the result of participation in these areas. It is the result of what takes place in the individual’s heart in how they relate to it.

Be careful, how and what you judge to be unclean or unholy. Paul enlarges on this principle profoundly in 1 Cor 6:12-13 "Everything is permissible for me"-but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"-but I will not be mastered by anything.” In this verse Paul brings us to ask ourselves the question: “what happens to me when I participate in this area?” “What things that I participate in gain an unhealthy influence or control over some area of my life?” This is the source of uncleanness and the answer will be different from person to person. The Pharisees sought to enforce laws and traditions in such a way that stripped all men of their individuality. But with God this is not the case. Paul speaks on this subject again in Rom 14:1-4 “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2 One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls.” Each one of us lives before God and must respond to Him according to what He asks of us personally.

Purity is a walk of faith. It is a life of responsiveness to the dictates of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and must not be reduced to a system of rules, universally enforced. For each man purity may be a fluctuating reality as from season to season the Holy Spirit requires different things of us according to the things that He is seeking to accomplish both in us and through us. Live before God and live with a responsive heart!