How is it that ye have no faith?

Mark 4:38-40, “And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?”

Have you ever wondered what the Lord wanted the disciples to do? I have. Did He want them to speak to the storm like He did? Did He expect them to stand on the bow of that boat and say, “Peace, be still? The Lord Jesus Christ is on this vessel and has commissioned us to go to the other side!” Is that what Jesus expected them to do? I think He did.

Faith – true faith – requires a word from God directly to us. It is imperative that we hear from God, personally, the word, the commission, or the orders to go or to do or to speak. Not just some vague Scripture reference to an action or unction of centuries past, but a fresh word from God. This personal word was present in the command, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” When the snag in life comes, (in this case a storm) the authority and commission of those who are called should come to the fore. Remember Jesus’ words to his disciples,

“And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:18-19)

The problem was that these men were fishers. They were well acquainted with the destructive power of the sea. They had known of lives being claimed out there on that water. They would have to change their minds and habits about very familiar things – a task very difficult indeed. The ingredient missing here was faith. “How is it that ye have no faith?”

The Lord wants and even commands us to have faith saying in Mark 11:22b, “Have faith in God.” This is rendered in Greek, “Have the faith of God.” Unswerving, confident, and assured faith that what God promised He is able to perform. This is why Jesus could, without flinching, place the two adjectives, faithless and perverse in the description of His disciples. In Matthew 17:17 the Lord chided the disciples for not having faith enough to cast out the demon in a boy who was brought to them, “Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?”

How Important Is Faith?

We should place as much importance on faith as the Lord did. Our concern for ourselves and doubting God can put us in the category of perverse. Look who is included in the list of the damned in Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” What a list on which to have an attribute of your personality included!

When Jesus tells His disciples the reason they could not cast the devil out He used the phrase, “because of your unbelief.” He did not say they didn’t have enough faith or that their faith was not large enough, He said that it was not there. “How is it that ye have NO faith?” The disciples must have wondered in themselves, “Do we need a greater faith?” But Jesus told them, “I say to you that if your faith were the size of the smallest seed it would have been enough. The problem was that faith wasn’t there at all.

Jesus’ words and actions said clearly, “You doubted my word. I gave you power and authority over unclean spirits and you doubted it.” This tenacious demon played the same role as the contrary wind and sea was to the prior mission. They had opportunity to learn this earlier. Had they learned the lesson from the Sea of Galilee they would have spoken to this demon and cast it out. Alas, they had no faith in this situation either. They did not speak to the wind in faith and they likely did not speak to this demon either. They had the command, the word, they knew what action to take, but they did not have the faith.[1]

Do we disappoint God when we doubt and fear? I believe, for the most part, we do. Especially when it comes to everyday provisions. We hear Jesus say, “…for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things”[2] we can hear a sadness in His voice that we do not comprehend this in reality.

However, many times, in order to keep from disappointing God, we err in the other direction – presumption. We presume God’s favor or blessing when, though we have no word from God, we capriciously take from the Bible someone else’s’ promise or prior record of God’s provision and arbitrarily claim it for ourselves. Claiming that we are practicing faith, we mock the God we allege to glorify for our provision.

How is it that we have no faith? I submit it is because we have not heard from God. We have not sought commission by Him to live, work, or play, nor have we heard His voice in any matters of our life. How can we have faith, or live by faith if we have never heard the Word of God in any area of our lives? We are not living by faith… we are living by hope. Hope is good, but it is not faith. We hope God is in control. We hope He will bless us in next week’s business. We hope He will expand our borders and make our way prosperous, but we have no real word from God upon which we may lay claim and no promise upon which we may rest our full assurance of faith.

We know what to do, but we have not been told to do it. We know the job to be done, but we have not been commanded. When we are working under our own power and the storm looms overhead and we hear the thunder roll and the see the seas swell, our faith is exposed as only hope because we have no commission to call upon.

Faith Comes By Hearing

All we need to hear from our God is to go and do this or that and we would be strong in our faith. We would know our commission. No one in a right frame of mind wonders whether God is ABLE. We wonder if He is willing. We wonder if He is willing because we do not know His will! We must hear a word from God. We must hear the Word of God. Here is one of the most misunderstood principles in Christendom today. It is misunderstood mainly because the most misunderstood Scripture is so often used to teach in this situation.

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17

If you mistakenly define “the Word of God” as “the Scriptures,” you have rendered the power of this truth impotent. You will not receive faith from reading, nor will faith come by study, faith comes by HEARING. It is when you receive your commission to “go to the other side of the lake” that you have the faith to say, “Peace, be still.” But you have to HEAR it. We cannot presume it, we may not read the promise made to someone else two centuries ago, but you must hear for yourself.

Many of us are living our lives having never consulted God about the direction that they are to go. You may assume He wants you to do this or that, you may presume He will bless your efforts if you do the best you can, but if you want to claim to live by faith, you must hear from Him about your direction and purpose in life.

If you want to have faith you must hear that voice that authorizes you to overcome any obstacle. If you want to have faith – true faith – you must HEAR the Word of God. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” We cannot group the whole Church into this category of faithlessness nor blame them for not exercising faith.

There are some who have heard the Word of God, who know the direction and purpose for their lives. They have been commissioned and told where to go and how to get there.

Like the disciples were told to go to the other side, some have received their orders. It is to those who know their instructions that Jesus addresses His question. “I gave you orders, I empowered you to overcome all obstacles, how is that ye have no faith?”

[1] Excerpt from the audio book “On Faith” by this author.

[2] Matthew 6:32

Enjoy this meditation from the Questions of Jesus .

Q. 120 Where is the Guestchamber?

Luke 22:11, Mark 14:14, “And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?”

The rituals and traditions of some faiths are a fascinating study. I once heard a story of a young girl learning from her mother how to cook the holiday roast. “You must cut it like this before you put it in the pan” mother said with conviction as she removed four full inches from the end of the roast. “Why?” the young lady asked. “I don’t know,” the mother answered with a look of confusion, “but I’ve always done it – perhaps we’ll ask Grandma tonight. After all, she told me to do it” That night at dinner, the matriarch of the family was finally asked by the granddaughter, “Why did you teach Mom that the end of a roast should be removed?” She answered, “Back in those days… we had a very small oven!” So it is with rituals and traditions. The actions last long after the reasons are forgotten.

In order to look at traditions we need to stand back to consider them. Objectivity and reason must rule the deliberation. We also must realize that while all ordinances may be ritual all ritual may not be ordinance. The Church has found itself involved in liturgies and observances that have done much harm and little good over the years. People, otherwise civilized and kind, tear apart congregations and families with questions of rituals and all the intricacies of their observance. Are they required? How often? So on and so on, ad infinitum.

Let us examine Christ’s question, “Where is the guestchamber?” What a wonderful question to ask those who think it compulsory to prepare and participate in the Eucharist. What a question for those who feel it is essential to place common bread in their mouth and call it the body of Christ and those who pretend to drink His blood by drinking wine or juice.

They may find themselves in debates about how and why and with whom it is to be done. Churches split, families quarrel, while theologians (Catholic and Protestant alike) bark out Scriptures to “prove” their points. Should the wine be fermented? Is the bread allowed to be leavened? Should we serve the cup first or the bread? Should we use individual cups or share one? What should the cup be made of? Who is qualified to serve?

Who is qualified to partake? Is this service essential for salvation? Does the bread actually become the flesh of Christ? (Transubstantiation) How often should we do this each year…each month… each week? The questions go on indefinitely. One question, however, about this night that is never asked is the one Jesus asked, “Where is the guestchamber?”

Bread is easily purchased at the market or from church supply stores – perfectly round (if you are into Sun worship) or square if you like matzos or broken into tiny pieces, whatever is your tradition. We can find certified leaven free, kosher, salted or unsalted, crackers, or matzos.

The wine can be bought at the same places and may be from California or Israel, it may be fermented or unfermented, red or rosé (never white). Some see nothing wrong with using water in its place and to others that is sacrilege. Are all these concerns valid or can we participate in the Lord’s supper with a coffee and doughnut? (This is not said to offend but to provoke thought.) What is important and unimportant about the way this communion with Christ is carried out.

Another Idea

Quakers did not hold to the conventional idea of the “Lord’s Supper.” The Quakers (as indeed we all should) focus more on the communion and less on the supper. As a matter of fact, the supper becomes a symbol that complicates and obscures the Truth of this service.

You may meet an old friend and you say, “Let’s have dinner.” Don’t you assume that your intention is, not to eat, but to fellowship with your friend? When a gentleman asks a lady out for dinner, should we assume he is hungry for food? The symbolic gesture is just as much apparent in the Lord’s supper. The Lord is not hungry, nor does He care what is served. He comes for the fellowship, the communion, and the company. He does not ask, “Where is the unleavened bread I require?” Nor does He ask for pedigrees on participants. He asks, “Where is the guestchamber that I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”

The fellowship that Jesus requires is the communion of the heart. The company He desires is the humble disciple, eagerly awaiting words from the lips of his Lord – awaiting orders, awaiting corrections, awaiting encouragement. This is the fellowship He desires “as oft ye do this” (as often as you eat) to meet with Him and fellowship. As often as you raise a glass to quench your thirst, consider the blood with which you were purchased.

As often as you place food in your mouth to give yourself strength, gain strength from the body that was broken for you as well.

This fellowship is carried on in the heart. This is the guestchamber where resides the Savior, the lover of our soul. It is the guestchamber that is swept and garnished, where the door is opened to receive the Savior whenever He knocks. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will SUP with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) Herein lies the fellowship, the communion, the company, it is the Lord’s SUPper that He desires. There is no fussing about who is invited, no worries about condition, color or location of the bread and wine, no silly debates, no presumptuous priesthood to serve these “holy elements,” just the pure fellowship of the heart. This is the true communion in the true guestchamber with the true bread.

The Guestchamber Is Key.

If it is a room, then the furnishings of the room become important. If it is a place we are to go, then when we go and where we go and who goes becomes very important. If the table of the Lord is a tangible table, then even its composition may be of some importance. But if the table, and the bread, and the wine, and the room are only a symbols of a greater spiritual existence, then it all becomes totally unimportant and diverting, dividing and distracting, illusory and bothersome.

Where is the guestchamber?

It is within us!

Most of the problems we encounter are problems that could have been avoided with ease if we had been fresh from fellowship with the Captain of our Salvation. The communion we need is daily communion, not a yearly or a monthly or even a weekly eating and drinking of “holy” bread and grape juice. The symbols mean nothing compared to the fellowship they represent. Paul, teaching on this very thing says, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.” (Romans 14:17-19)

But is anything wrong with an actual guestchamber and a tangible table and physical bread and wine? Yes, they are to be rejected. These items are to be rejected because they occupy a place in our minds that only the real and true articles should occupy. For example if I asked you, “When was the last time you had communion?” You may think back to the last time you sat with others in a service and participated in the Eucharist (or Lord’s Supper if you prefer).

If you asked me the same question I would answer, “This morning.” If we participate in “communion” at church, do we feel a need to do so at home? If a person partakes of the Lord’s Supper in church to satisfy the Scripture’s request to do so, is there a desire to continue that supper throughout the day? No, unfortunately the satisfaction of the pure Commandment cannot come from two sources – one source real, the other merely a symbol.

To live in truth, we must choose – let us choose the substance over the symbol. The question that settles the issue is “Where is the guestchamber?”

Where is your faith?

Luke 8:24-25, “And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.”

A story is told about a circus performer who walks among the crowd after successfully walking across the high wire suspended above a gorge, and asked, “Do you believe I can go across pushing a wheel barrow?” The crowd chanted, “Yes! Yes!” Then stone silence fell as he prepared the wheelbarrow for the narrow journey and not a word in answer came when he asked, “Now, who would like to ride?”

Corresponding action is the ONLY indicator of unfeigned faith.

The Bible records a question that is often quoted, but seldom answered. “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? It is most uncomfortable to answer the question because it shows us to be faithless in many cases. We must admit, however, that faith without actions that corresponds to the faith is not faith at all. And, “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.” (James 2:14-24)

The action that corresponds to faith (or the lack of action) is not only a marker of absent faith, it can also provide clues to us indicating in what or where we have placed our faith. Jesus made the same point this way, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:21) Behind the words is the principle that we live what we believe. Or as a Mississippi preacher friend of mine says, “We be livin’ what we believin’.” If what Jesus and my friend say is true (and I believe it is) then we may look into our own lives and easily see where our faith lies. “Where is your faith?” becomes more than a rhetorical question. It becomes a question of introspection. Your faith is somewhere, where is it?

Sometimes the action that exposes our misplaced faith is only a mental process. When trouble arises we may look for help. The process of looking starts with a mental inventory of useful items, people, and resources. When faced with a problem we might immediately think of a friend to help us who has expertise or political power. When faced with a loss we may think of our insurance policy or our savings account. When a health issue appears we may want to consult with a doctor of reputation among his peers. Where our thoughts go is to our treasure, and where your treasure is, there is where you will find your heart of faith.

When King David was faced with trouble he said, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” (Psalms 121:1-2) Could it be said that David had misplaced faith? Never a man had chariots and horses, armies and men so devoted to him as David had. He was truly a man of resources, but his attitude was, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.” (Psalms 20:7) Can anyone see a man here who doubts God? Do we have to ask David, “Where is your faith?”

I believe that God enjoyed the faith of Job, Noah and Daniel, and I believe that YHVH enjoyed David’s faith. David’s faith was different. It had a humble and unassuming quality. Although it was a no nonsense faith, it never even encroached disrespect. Jesus even mentions (I believe with a smile on His face) a time when David ate the shewbread in the Temple, which is unlawful for any man who is not a Priest to eat, and asked the Pharisees what they thought of that. It is no wonder that David was known as a man after God’s own heart. [1 Samuel 13:14, “…the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people…”] The eternal reign of Christ in the new Kingdom has been prophesied for years as the “the throne of David.” David’s relationship to Jehovah was so close that he once circumvented the office of the priest and a man was killed in the process. David grieved for Uzzah and believed it was his fault that he died. [2 Samuel 6] With all these ideas in our head, we are left with this mystery pertaining to David’s relationship to God. But a day came in the life of David where his actions would show, loud and clear, where his faith was. This was a day that grieved the Lord and things were never the same after this event.

“And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.” (1 Chronicles 21:1) What could be so bad about taking a census? Look at the figures that were given to David. “And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand [1,100,000] men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand [470,000] men that drew sword.”(Verse 5) These statistics were to verify the POWER available to David as king. It was obvious that the object in which David placed his faith was changing, and it was deplorable to God. David’s action showed where his faith was. He no longer looked unto the hills as in the days of his youth. He no longer was saying that some trust in chariots and horses, for his actions are now speaking louder than any words of his past. But why did he falter?

Always Enough

I remember going away to school and, for the first time, I was in charge of my finances. In some homes Dad keeps the wallet and balances the checkbook, in my home, my Mother was the one. She taught me how to spend money and how to save it. I remember setting up an account at the school for needs and supplies that would eventually crop up as the year progressed. “How much money are you going to put in there?” I asked my mother. She told me that there would always be enough, as long as I only bought what I needed. I lived by the faith that what my mother told me was true. For many months I never looked into that account or even cared how much was there and, just as she said, whenever I needed something I could go to the clerk and ask for an amount and there was always enough.

But the day came when I wanted to buy MORE than I needed. What do you think was my first thought? My faith in Mom was instantly transformed. I could not count on what was out of my control, namely the will and ability of my mother; I had to rely on what was within my power and possession. My actions showed where my faith was. It was in me.

The Disciples were skilled boatmen. This was not their first time at sea. David was a man of war skilled in every area of battle. When it came time to take inventory of assets it should come as no surprise that these men counted on their own power. David realized what he had done and repented. After the ordeal was over David likely heard within himself the words, “Where is your faith?”

That thought never occurred to the disciples, however. They rowed and rowed. They used every trick in the book. After all hope was gone and their resources were exhausted, and they worked hard to no avail, they went to Jesus. Asking Him why He did not care if they perished, Jesus looked around at the panting men who were totally spent trying to recover themselves, and asked, “Where is your faith?”

Why are ye so fearful?

Matthew 8:26, “And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!” Also refer to: Mark 4:40, Luke 8:25

One of the beautiful things about having four Gospels is reading the same account from three or four perspectives. This account of Jesus calming the storm is no exception. In one he asks, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” in another, “Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?” and then finally (as this story only appears in only three of the Gospels) He asks, “Where is your faith?”

From this story, take notice that the lack of faith is an indicator to Jesus that they are full of fear, or vice versa if you prefer, but it is obvious that faith and fear are mutually exclusive forces. More so than a discussion of faith, we want to consider the question that brought about the self-examination, “Why are you so fearful?”

Many of the answers to the questions Jesus asked were for our information not His. Even if we do not hold to the idea that Jesus “knew everything” or could “read minds,” we must agree that His wisdom far surpassed mankind’s. He asked, “Why are ye so fearful?” not because He did not know; He asked in order to initiate an internal and self-questioning process within the disciples. He was saying, “Stop, wait a minute and think! Why are you so fearful?”

This self-examining process is an essential part of the Christian faith that is lacking in most of our personal lives and certainly in conventional congregational worship. This process cannot be bypassed, done in haste or hurry, nor can it be accomplished in formulaic steps or procedures. It is a meeting of minds, so to speak, a meeting of reality within us that can only be accomplished through honest questions and honest answers.

In silent contemplation, we listen to the Word of God (the living Christ) within us, as He evaluates our condition and queries us, we answer Him and our answers may candidly determine our shortcomings and expose the necessary changes. But it is the waiting; the silent waiting upon Him that will present light to our souls and refresh our innermost being. The noise of our lives and noise of our churches attest to the lack of quietness within our spirits. Quietness is uncomfortable to most, because it naturally reveals the noise in our souls. We try to avoid this candid meeting with Christ from occurring within us, for we dread it may make our fears of our Father’s displeasure a reality. Noise is necessary to keep this honest, internal conversation from happening, lest we find ourselves convicted in our favorite lifestyle and then obliged to change it.

Peace with Our God

It is the lack of our Father’s approval that deprives of serenity; we want to feel His hand of salvation on us so that we can feel peace, but we avoid feeling His hand of correction. How can we have one and not the other? Do not both touches of His hand come at once? The writer in Hebrews 12 says, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons… Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? …that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness…” (Verses 6-11 abridged, emphasis added) It is the pain of correction that brings about the feeling of being true children of your Father in heaven, as well as effecting lasting changes in our lifestyle that please Him.

But we avoid this pain. Sometimes we mistakenly think that the absence of discomfort we feel resulting from the singing or orchestrated harmony with others when we are making “joyful noise,” is His approving hand on our lives. But relief is not remedy. Our temporary comfort is no more a sign of healing than drug-induced pain alleviation is an evidence of a medical cure.

We are fearful because we do not know our future; we do not know our future because we do not have faith in God. We do not have faith in God because we are not in communication with Him; we are not in communication with Him because our sins have created a painful barrier between us. Sadly, what has been forgotten are the words of the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah: “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2)

Now that we know the answer, let us hear the question again, “Why are ye so fearful?” When faced with a trial of our faith we naturally think of ways we have displeased our God. It is as though we have a delinquent debt to the local hospital and we find ourselves in need of their services again. Though they may treat us through mercy, we know, because of our debt, we do not deserve it. You should live in such a way so that no debt, no sin or shortcoming should be outstanding, as you approach the Father in prayer.

Why are you so fearful? It is likely that you feel afraid in your trials because your disobedience and your recent failures give you no assurance that God is in control or will help in time of need. Selfish acts and concerns are often responsible for faithlessness and fear. Don’t live in a manner where only your interests are preponderant. In doing so, you will surely consider the storms that rise as obtrusive impositions into your world or even punishment for your sin.

Notice that Jesus did not ask, “Why are you afraid of storms?” That would be a silly question as it is well established that storms are dangerous. He asked, “Why are ye so fearful?” Jesus was awakened by His disciples asking, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” Not only had they become fearful of the tempest, but they had also surmised, in their fear, that Jesus did not care if they died. They did not doubt His ability to act as much they now doubted His willingness to act on their behalf.

Jesus asked them about their fearfulness. They were not only afraid of the storm (which was normal); He asked them why they were full of fear. “Why are ye so fearful?” “Where is your faith?” “How is it ye have no faith?” These questions would sober any honest Christian, and initiate self-examination. You may feel that fear is out of your control. However, you should remember that the fear you feel is in inverse proportion to your faith in God. Your works exemplify and give evidence of your faith in God… and your works are within our control.

When weather, out of your control, pitches and tosses your boat, you can bravely steer ahead on into the waves and remain afloat only if you know that you are going where you were told to go, doing what you were told to do, and serving your Master and not your own interests. Steer, go, do, and serve! All are works within your control. It is only the one who seeks the easy way, or who looks for the loopholes, who fears when the way grows dark and ominous. Those who dodge responsibility and perform only the least that is expected are uncertain that God cares, or doubt that He would use His power to save.

You are not to be cowardly and worthless, trembling and unsure. You are to hold in high regard your commission and the Commissioner. You may only exemplify that respect by your servile attitude and selflessness. Then you can function in true and trusting faith. You can live in full assurance that if He says to go, you’ll go until you arrive. If He says to do, you’ll do until you are done. You will fear nothing because you are not your own, you are bought with a price. You have nothing to fear as you live day to day doing only that which pleases Him. So then, “Why are ye so fearful?”

Have you not so much as read?

Luke 6:3, Mark 2:28, Matthew 12:3-8, John 7:23 (Combined)

“But he answering said unto them, Have ye never read so much as this, what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which as not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? … But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.”

This is one of few accounts that appears in all four Gospels and is a lesson often lost in the mire of arguments about the Sabbath day. Let us focus on Jesus’ question, “Have you not so much as read…?” Notice that He uses this question to preface the references to the Law of Moses and David the Prophet. Christ almost has a tone of surprise in His voice, wondering how this concept had eluded their reading and study. Let’s look at the Scripture Jesus quoted:

Hosea 6:6, “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”

The “knowledge of God” is more desirable than offerings and sacrifice. Hebrew prose had poetic values; to repeat a thought in the next phrase with different words of the same meaning was common when the writer was trying to emphasize a point. There are many examples of repetition for emphasis throughout the Old Testament to demonstrate this. By pairing up the repeated thoughts synonyms can be found. Here we see the word “sacrifice” used as a synonym to “offering” and “knowledge of God” in synoptic position with “mercy.”

By this verse we may learn that revelation of the knowledge of God will not only reveal Him as merciful; it also places demand upon us to be merciful in order to live in concord with Him.

It is fascinating how often this “New Testament” concept appears in the “Old Testament.” Psalms 40:6 says, “Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire…” Psalms 51:16-17 repeats, “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” God’s desire for mercy and not sacrifice is an ancient one. We must not think that God desires sacrifice – His desire is mercy, submission and a contrite and obedient heart. Once, this same concept of sacrifice being second to righteousness, condemned and deposed a King with almost the same words that Jesus quoted from Hosea: “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22)

David: An Example for Us

David was so intimately familiar with Jehovah that he saw no conflict (and certainly no sin) in eating the forbidden shewbread in the temple. Jesus somehow applied this example of familiarity with the Lawgiver to His disciples who were gathering corn to eat on Sabbath. There is a mystery here that has not been revealed. David knew something to which we have not been made privy; there is something here like a back door or a peek into the Spirit circumnavigating the letter of Law without breaking it. Though it is elusive and difficult to know it in its fullest sense, its truth is contained in the verse:

“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.”

Those who hear in this verse that we can do whatever we want on the Sabbath Day because it was made for us, or those who think Jesus said that He can do whatever He wants because He is Lord of the Sabbath, somehow giving Himself permission to break the Commandment, simply don’t understand this verse. It is deeper than this.

There is more to this than wholesale negation of the Law. We cannot do whatever we want yet we are called and compelled to seek God and learn of Him and gain the knowledge of Him and seek Him with our whole heart. This is so we can live, move, and have our being in Him, without fear, without condemnation and still live a life free from sin (not freedom to sin.)

The simple application to this is that, possibly, what we think is sin …may not be – and what we think is not sin…is. Our difficulty comes from the fact that we don’t know God! As much as we may delight in our experience of Him, as proud as we may be of the road we have traveled, as far as we think we may have come, we may still go outside on a starry night and look up and know that this saying is true: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) Why do we not know Him? Jesus said it may be because we have not so much as read His Scriptures.

We must make ourselves familiar with our God. How are we to do that if not by reading His Scriptures? We must learn of His ways and make them our ways. We cannot continue as marginally obedient children, or part-time doers of the Law. Nor can we consider ourselves sinless solely by virtue of what some would claim to be an “abolished” Law. We must learn of Him.

We must read His Law, His Prophets, and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The Scriptures provide insight beyond anyone’s years; they contain the intelligence that created the world, the heart of love that gave up to death an obedient Son to save the rebellious ones. We may no longer blamelessly saunter through Christian bookstores hungrily begging for scraps.

We cannot continue expecting tradition, and ceremony to satisfy the eternal need for true and meaningful communion.

We may sit no longer at the feet of mere men asking advice, seeking direction, or attempting to gain some second-hand guidance. How can we ask our most gracious God, who gave the Scriptures, preserved them, and freely dispersed them throughout the world, to speak to us, give us guidance, and day to day leading if we refuse to read, the gift of all earthly gifts, the Scriptures? Do you expect God to tell you something twice, or three times? Or do you demand that He write a letter, mail it, deliver it, open it, and read it to you? What must our heavenly Father do to teach you?

The Bible is the book of all books. It contains answers to questions with which you are struggling right now. It has insight to impart to you that could make next week into a miracle instead of a massacre.

By writing a Bible, our God has lifted the requirements of holiness to hear a word from Him. Anyone can read it. Anyone can hear the words He spoke and spark within them the light of understanding to begin the journey toward peace with God. What a gift! To be given, without prerequisite, a window into the mind and heart of God.

You may be ignoring the most wonderful love letter ever written, all the while pleading for intimacy and “the knowledge of God”; all the while living in unnecessary sin and ignorance. To what extent must He go to make His way known to you? How will you stand before Him and plead ignorance of His ways, knowing He could look at you and ask, “Have ye not so much as read?”

Acts 2:30 – “Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;”

Acts 17:28 – “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”

You believe because of what I said? – You will see greater things.

“Now Phillip … findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph …and saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.” John 1:44-51 (Condensed)

Jesus was impressed with the simple and ready faith of Nathanael. There are those who are ready to believe, and there are those, like Thomas, who need to see the “holes in His hands” before they can believe. We should feel sorrow for those who need such confirmation, for their skepticism is misdirected. Almost without exception, upon interview we will find that those who have no faith in what they cannot see (where spiritual things are concerned) seem to place all faith in what others claim to see (where the natural and temporal is concerned). It is as if they trust other’s vision more than their own in science and psychology, but trust only their own sight, feel, reason and understanding in religion and theology.

It seems that we place our trust first in the world’s philosophy and science. That misplaced priority is exposed when we say things like, “We’ve done all we can do. All we can do now is pray.” Faith in God’s provision and love could only do us good, but it is with doubt and with demand of proof that we reluctantly carry out His plan, place faith in His way, or trust Him with our lives. Jesus was amazed that Nathanael was so willing to do this.

The response He was expecting was more like Thomas’ reaction to the news of His resurrection.

“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20)

It makes me sad to read this story. Think of the sorrow and hurt the Lord must have felt when He held out His hands and said, “Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side.” The point to note here is that Jesus did accommodate Thomas – even in his unbelief. Though we may not arbitrarily apply this promise of meeting a person halfway to every searcher lacking in faith, it is cause for great hope, and shows the heart of Christ was with this disciple.

He then said, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

(This story can be found in John 20.) That blessing Jesus mentioned is directed toward us – we who believe, having not seen. We hold the entire Gospel story by faith. There are great measures afoot to “prove” the Gospel is true and there are equal strides to “prove” that it is adulterated, exaggerated, or false.

These measures simply do not apply to us of unfeigned faith. What scientists, preachers, or mystics say does not move us. No matter what life itself tells us, we are men and women of faith in Christ. We do not believe because “the facts” line up and declare we should believe; we believe because He is alive in us and His Spirit is working in us, sustaining our very lives. As Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

True faith in God is rarer than you might deduce by polls taken in the United States. To say that we believe in God is much different than saying we live by faith in God. Yet, the Scriptures say, “…the just shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4) If you are waiting for science to prove God to you, or you are waiting for men of faith to prove that scientific theories are wrong, you are waiting in vain. You must now believe from your heart in Christ. You must hold to whatever shred of belief still remains in you and cultivate it into a life based in faith. The Scriptures give little hope to those who ignore the inner promptings of God within them, claiming that the Spirit will not always work in man.[1]

The Faith Perspective

If you are one who doubts the existence of God, consider this. Perhaps your focus is too narrow. Maybe you secretly want God to do parlor tricks, or maybe it is that your focus is upon yourself. In the Psalms, the writer, having a keen sense of the immense nature of God, had an opposite notion. He was amazed that the God of all creation would have anything to do with him at all! He asked, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Psalms 8:3-4) Yet selfishly we may ask, “Why don’t you do something for me?” It may be that life, society or those around you have taught you to be too self-centered and self-important. If that is the case you may never see God as the Psalmist did.

Testimony of the Christian faith is not to be based upon scientific consultation, or theological perfection, but it is to be one of experience. The internal witness and life within, by the presence of the Holy Spirit, is how we know that He is risen and is seated at the right hand of God.

We need not visually see Him there to proclaim it. C. S. Lewis, a former atheist said, “I know that the sun is risen, not because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else.”

Nevertheless, when your focus shifts from the mundane and temporal, when your goal becomes getting to know your God instead of proving His existence, and your life become less egocentric, new realms of faith and Spirituality await you. Not an ethereal, non-existent, ignorant faith, but one of depth and reality known by the power of God extended to us on our behalf.

Our Savior knows that this does not come easy for some. He knows it has its difficulties. Nathaniel took Him by surprise when he so readily and quickly believed. The story of Nathaniel is not told us to set him apart from us, but for us to covet his faith. To believe simply because Christ said so is a wonderful trait and full of promise.

You, as a Christian, should require no more than the word of Christ to believe. If you do, it will be said of you that “you will see greater things” but first, you must stop putting God to the test. You desire “great” faith, when what you need is “easy” faith – faith that comes quickly and easily. The greatest things will only be seen as your faith becomes easier and easier to exercise. To act on His word to your heart alone is the greatest faith.

When Christ speaks words to your heart, be quick to receive them, without doubt. Surprise the Lord when He requires faith of you. What joy you will feel when He says, “Do you believe because of what I said? You will see greater things than these.”

[1]

Genesis 6:3, “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man,

for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.”

Question 13. What were you looking for?

“And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John [the Baptist], What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled in soft clothing, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts and houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.” Luke 7:24-26 Matthew 11:7-9 (Combined)

All Israel was awaiting the return and ministry of the Prophet Elijah. This was misunderstood to mean a visitation from a man who would call himself Elijah (something John did not do) and would introduce the Messiah (something John did do). John, for whatever reason, went unnoticed as the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy, “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:1)

John did not fill the description that they had developed (or had been developed for them) in their mind. They were convinced he could not be “that Prophet.” The fact that John did not consider himself to be “that Prophet” did not help matters either. He was once asked, “…Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias [Elijah]? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou?

That we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? John said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias [Isaiah].” (John 1:19-23)

The disciples had no better understanding of the prophecy. Peter, James and John, after witnessing the transfiguration, seeing and recognizing Elijah with Christ, decided that this event that they witnessed must be the coming of Elijah for which all Israel had been waiting. Jesus corrected their thinking, “…Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed [pleased]. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.” (Matthew 17:11-13)

The coming of Elijah was a monumental event in the lives of all Israel and they waited for it with anticipation and delight. They set a place for the Prophet Elijah at every Passover meal and looked out the door to see if he was coming. They knew that he was the forerunner to Christ. They had, unfortunately, created an idea in their mind that the prophet for whom they waited would be much different than John the Baptist actually was.

Consequently, they missed the prophet for which they waited for centuries.

In our imagination we may see Jesus with his hands out at His sides, palms up, with a slight shrug in His shoulders as he asks, “When you came out here to see John, what were you looking for? Did you come out here to enjoy nature (a reed in the wind)? Were you disappointed that He was not finely dressed and did not represent the epitome of all your own earthly desires? Those who have the things you desire to see are Kings, not prophets.

Is that what you wanted to see? A prophet? John was much more than a prophet. But what did you expect to see? You are looking for signs and wonders, prophets, and mighty men, and are disappointed with all who are sent to you.

What are you looking for?”

This is a good question. What are we looking for? What would get us out of our houses and down to the riverbank? What would get our attention? We all have in our mind our own description of what a proper person, a prophet, a church, or a philosophy would be. The descriptions we have in our minds need to be brought out and analyzed. It could reveal what we seek and why. Jesus listed a few of the motivations that men may seek and these may help us categorize our own

What Are We Looking For?

A Naturist? He is someone with answers that fit into the natural scheme of things but are, in a sense, benign, ineffectual, and undemanding of change. A reed, shaking in the wind. He is sought by those who can see God in a sunset, but have trouble with His presence in the Commandments.

A Representative of our Humanity? This man will satisfy those who look for someone who has the answers, or has conquered the trials of life, who has overcome, a winner, one who has raised above the norm, a man in fine clothes, handsome and successful.

A Man of God? This is the man sought by those who are looking for a prophet, a Seer, or preacher who has the ear of God, and was commissioned or empowered by God. Someone above the average man. Those seeking this, feel that their quest is more noble than that of others; that they are seeking higher or “spiritual” things. They are often taken in by tricks, lofty language, goose bumps, platitudes, flattery, and promised acceptance by God.

Which one of these could take you in? Perhaps a combination of two, or all three? What would you go out to see? We all need to examine our motivations and desires and make sure they are as they should be.

Which leads to the query, how should they be?

Your answer is not around you; it is in you. “To whom God would make known … Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) Not surprisingly, Christ perfectly satisfies all three of the attributes He listed. His ministry and His very life teach that you are not to look for answers in the creation (sunsets and nature); you are to look to the Creator.

Jesus was the “Representative of our humanity.” He was the “Man of God” there is no other. Yet the one who waited for Messiah missed Him, too. You will not be able to recognize fulfillment of prophecy by comparing what you see to your Bible’s pages, recognition will come from the Spirit within you. Nowhere in the Scripture does it say that when Messiah comes He will tell you how many husbands you have had, but some how the woman at the well knew.

She ran to her friends and said, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” (John 4:29)

Do not forget that He warned that deception was a possibility and even a probability. Remember His admonitions from Matthew 24, “Many will come… and will deceive many. Pay attention so you won’t be deceived. … when they say, ‘look, He is in the desert,’ go not forth.” Who are these “many” who are being deceived? Don’t they own Bibles? Don’t they know prophecy? It is not enough to know the book, you must know Him.

He knows that you have a tendency to look around before you look within. If you consider in advance, what you like and what you are like, you will be fore-armed against deception. The history of man shows that false teachers are sought and true prophets are killed. Even the Son of God Himself was not safe among us. One of the most dangerous deceptions is the one that convinces you that you are immune from deception.

If you feel that you cannot be deceived, you are presently in the throes of the worst deception of all. You needn’t think that deception always leads to communes, poison Kool-Aid, space ships and suicide pacts. Sometimes it just subtlety corrodes a person’s faith till there is nothing left in him but questions and doubt and fear of the unknown. Sometimes deception takes the form of knowledge.

Heaps of education can console and comfort those who once searched for Truth — becoming a bulwark of defense against simple and uncomplicated faith in God. In every case, deception replaces Truth – the Truth that sets men free. Once it is gone nothing remains but a hollow shell where there once was a budding, burgeoning faith in God. What are you looking for?

How can ye, being evil, speak good things?

Matthew 12:33-37, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things…For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

Among us there are those who have a propensity for kindness when considering man’s fallen state. Some think that mankind is in a totally depraved condition and lacks no ability to fully develop any evil thought, word, or deed. Then, the contradistinctive position is assumed that we are good beings that are getting a bad deal through no fault of our own (Adam) and God has since apologized by sending His son to die for us and we are all eventually going to live forever with God in bliss. In the mean time, the world is rampant with sin and not getting better.

In our day we are overrun with books and tapes explaining the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” We must admit that unpleasant things happen all the time to people who appear undeserving. Contrariwise we must admit that pleasant things happen to people who appear undeserving, unappreciative and unthankful and even unaware of any heavenly Father of lights from whom the good and perfect gifts come.

Ecclesiastes 8:14 says that this is an empty, or vain thought, “There is a vanity [waste of time] which is done upon the earth; [to consider] that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is [a waste of time] vanity.”

There are a couple of points to keep in mind when considering these hard questions about the good and bad happening to all, that don’t seem to surface in the discussions on “why.” One point is that bad things don’t happen to good people. There are no good people. “ALL we like sheep have gone astray, EVERY one of us has turned to his own way.” (Isaiah 53:6) All have sinned and come short, all have missed the mark. Jesus Himself said, There is none good – but God. Is this a technicality? Is this inapplicable when considering whether man is good or not, whether he deserves bad things or not?

We must not look at the “bad things” as getting what we deserve as much as fruit that has come to the tree. We must make either the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt or make the tree good and the fruit good, but we cannot say that a good tree is bringing forth corrupt fruit.

In Matthew 5:45, Jesus taught that we should bless and give gifts as God does, revealing that God gives the good things of life to all – without partiality. Life is indeed a gift from God. What if the rain only fell on the crops of those who love Him? “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Here we see the impartial loving favor of God, but what about the unpleasant things? In Ecclesiastes 2:14, where he was considering the fate of fools and wise he said, “… I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.” The only thing that separates God’s people from the rest is how the disaster is handled, not whether or not it comes. “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” (Proverbs 24:16)

After the initial point (that there are no good people) is accepted, some will alter the question and ask, “Why do bad things happen to God’s people?” The question is yet moot, for just as there are no “good” people, we must consider that there are no “bad” things. The things that we insist on calling bad, really, are unwanted, unpleasant, painful, or costly.

Who would call a new baby a bad thing? Yet no one would look forward to hours of painful labor; or, if a man suddenly came into a great deal of money and it eventually caused him to turn from God and lose out on the eternal reward laid up for him, who could call the windfall a “good thing?” Jesus asked, “What would it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” Just because things are unpleasant and painful, we cannot label them “bad” until we see their effect on us in the long run. Just because we gain what we want, we cannot call the experiences “good” until we see how these things effect us long term.

From where do these things come? How are these pleasant and unpleasant things set into motion and suddenly appear in our lives? Jesus said that they come from our hearts and our mouths. We, who dwell on the wickedness in us and in this world, cause this wickedness to manifest and eventually (in the form of unpleasantness) appear in our lives.

They do not necessarily appear as unpleasant items mind you, but our reaction to ANYTHING – pleasant or unpleasant, good or bad, welcome or unwelcome, riches or poverty, sickness or health, causes our downfall, failure, hardship, or it brings about deliverance, joy, and accomplishment. We have the ability to make castles from sand or make sand of our castles. All this creative power comes from the ABUNDANCE of our heart.

…how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things…For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

Realization of this idea (that you have the power within you to make any situation a stumbling block or a stepping stone) has caused an erroneous teaching. The error is that the abundance is in your control, namely in the words you speak. This is not a matter of learning to speak right, avoiding certain words or making good confessions of faith, nor is it control of your own will. You cannot decide to fill your heart with good things so your life will be better. You must lay down your life filled with evil, your heart filled with evil things, and exchange them for the abundant life and a heart full of good things.

This exchange is only accomplished through repentance and conversion.

Cry out to God for His mercy, and surrender your will to His. He will fill your heart with good things so that your reaction to the evil things, the “bad” and unpleasant things, will bring about goodness and blessing in your life.

Out of the Abundance of Your Heart

The abundance of your heart will cause you to speak good things. These words will not be a forced or wooden parroting of positive thinking verses; they will be true and genuine representations of the contents of your heart. There will be heard from your mouth the most gracious words of acceptance and goodwill. You will bless, and not curse, the things seemingly invading your life. ANY thing, good or bad will have the same effect of blessing. You will be surprised how the things that ruined you before will encourage and strengthen you now. From the abundance of your heart your mouth will speak.

Job 8:20-21 says, “Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers: Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.”

Your own wickedness causes your grief. As soon as you realize that, you will be well on your way to repairing it. God waits for you to change your evil and selfish way. When you go His way, He will change your heart. That will change your acceptance of His will and your attitude toward your own life and the “good” and “bad” things that happen in it. This change will be heard in your speech. Complaints, condemnation, and confusion will disappear, and be replaced with blessing.

Your speech should sound as if God were in control. You need to smile and bless, and not condemn and not complain. It is true, your words need to change, but “How can ye, being evil, speak good things?” James 1:17

Why would Satan cast out Satan?

Matthew 12:26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

Mark 3:23 … How can Satan cast out Satan?

Luke 11:18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?

Anyone remotely familiar with spiritual things has heard about the doctrine of the unpardonable sin. It has made its way into nearly every discussion, and usually it is never dealt with in a final way, settling the issue. What is it? How can someone commit such a sin? Is there no hope afterward?

Jesus had just performed a miracle of unmistakable credit. A lunatic that was mute and blind was brought to Jesus. This man was known in the area and it was obvious that there was a spirit on this man that had bound him physically. Jesus healed him so that the man could both speak and see. The religious leaders who witnessed this event could not attribute it to God for this confession would convict them. If they were to remain segregated from Christ, and they were to continue to teach that He was not who He said He was, they must condemn what He did and attribute it to some other power. So they said, “By the Lord of the Flies, (Beelzebub) this man casts out Satan, not by YHVH.” Jesus looked at them and said, “My Father will forgive anyone…of anything…but that.”

Many of the charlatans involved in “miracle” ministries today use this ploy. The idea of doubting their credibility is considered “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” and they warn those who do, of committing an unforgivable sin. Some others, playing on words, say that, “not accepting Christ” is the unforgivable sin. It has also been attached to specific sins such as using the name of God in vain. What exactly is “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?”

Matthew 12:31-32, “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”

It is clear that anyone who watched this miracle take place could not doubt that the source of the miracle was none other than YHVH the Creator. It was only stubborn pride and arrogance and a filthy heart that would conceive Christ’s collaboration with demons and let such an accusation spew out of their mouth.

When these men who were steeped in religion purposefully turned their eyes from the evidence and determined to harden their heart against accepting the clear witness of the Messiah, Jesus said that they had sealed their fate. Their rejection of the Father, who graciously sent them an irrefutable sign to believe in Messiah, was not only rejected and ignored, but then attributed to the archenemy of all mankind, the first rebel and hardener of hearts. The glory of God’s grace and power that was lovingly sent to us to help us and save us was sullied and ascribed, as though given by Satan to deceive us. It was the ultimate insult, done by intent, done by rebellion.

The miracle was incontrovertible. This was no parlor trick that could be done by slight of hand or mirrors. This miracle was unquestionably genuine, an attribute to which the “miracles” of today would have difficulty laying claim. When this miracle occurred, look at the reaction from the religious people there. It divided them into two. “But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. And others, tempting [testing] him, sought of him a sign from heaven.” (Luke 11:15-16) In another place the Scriptures say, “And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?” (John 7:31) One group dismissed Him out-of-hand and rejected Him as a deceiver, the other’s attitude showed interest in more spectacular signs.

The group that is not mentioned is the family and friends of this poor man who was no longer dumb and blind. As the commotion rose from the religious leaders, some condemning Jesus and some urging Him on to do other miracles, there was a man looking at the world around him for the first time in his life.

He looked into the faces of his brothers and friends and was able for the first time to speak to them. The din of the crowd lessened to give way to the thoughts now rushing through His mind. He stood thoroughly fascinated with the world he beheld. There was opening before him, in full color, a world that, before today, he had only heard. Satan had been cast out.

Darkness was replaced by light; abundant life was now in the stead of misery. Jesus, ignoring the selfish requests for miracles, looks back over his shoulder at this man who now sees for the first time his own way home and his friends flocking around him, patting him and shaking his hand, wonders how anyone could see such a deliverance as the work of Satan. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) He looks at the religious leadership and wonders to Himself, ‘Why would this miracle cause them to blaspheme God…How can they think this is the work of Satan?’ Then Jesus looks at them, holds His hand up and asks them out loud, “Why would Satan cast out Satan?”

Us Four…And No More

Sometimes we become so group oriented that we start to think that our group is the only one through which God moves and works. We are dangerously close to blasphemy when we attribute the wonderful work of God that occurs in circles we do not frequent, to forces that are considered to be at enmity with Heaven. We should thank God for the fruit no matter at which end of the vine it grows.

The deliverance from sins, the freedom in Christ, the healing of bodies and lives are reason enough to thank God, no matter from whose camp it came. None of us are the possessors of all truth; we walk in obedience (at least that is our goal) and take the path He lays before us. As Paul says, “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth…” (Romans 14:4) We should rejoice and follow Christ. We are not to chase miracles we deem proper, nor are we to condemn those we determine are not. We are to follow.

Once when John, one of Jesus’ disciples, found another ministering in Christ’s name he came to Jesus and said, “…Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, “Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part.” (Mark 9:38-40)

Jesus feels no threat when someone outside your denomination does a wonderful work in His name. You should not either. If good is being accomplished then so be it, and thank God for it. When you see Satan’s kingdom suffer, no matter at whose hands, you can rest assured that our God has commissioned someone to do the job. When you think that the Devil is in the one who “followeth not us” you can easily determine the source by asking the same question Jesus asked of the doubting Pharisees, “Why would Satan cast out Satan?”

Do men gather grapes from thorns?

Matthew 7:16, “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?”

An immutable law of nature is that all life brings forth of its kind. Thus the question, do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? The answer is no, they do not, and Jesus implied, they cannot.

This Scripture is often misunderstood through misapplication. It does not instruct us how to discover “true Christians” nor provide a touchstone for self-evaluation. Also, it is often erroneously tied to Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

Well-meaning teachers have led us through the evaluation of our Christian walk and made claims that the absence of this listed fruit in our lives is an indicator of not being converted (or completely converted). Absence proves nothing. It is the PRESENCE of fruit that determines the family of the vine.

For example, you may walk through a garden and see a vine with no fruit on it. Discounting the ability to identify by foliage, can you accurately say this is not a pumpkin vine because you see no pumpkins? Of course not. It may be fully under way growing pumpkins at that very minute, but perhaps it’s diseased or malnourished, or at that moment it’s too young, or hindered in some other way to bear fruit. The presence of a watermelon, however, proves it is not a pumpkin vine.

The question remains, to whom does this Scripture apply? In context, the Lord was warning us of false prophets. He says that we will know false prophets by their fruit, “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:17-20)

Jesus was telling those who would hear, “These men are thorns, not vines.” If you find a grape on a thorn it is because it was stuck there, it did not grow there. How it got stuck there is a matter for consideration.

A false prophet is a deceiver. This is a person falsely speaking for God (without authority) or a person speaking falsely for God (saying things that are not true). The difference is subtle, but important. The latter speaks lies in the name of God. These are usually not a threat to biblically sound people. The words of a false prophet are weighed and found in error by way of the axiomatic truth that the Spirit of God will not contradict Himself. Neither will the Spirit within us nor will the Spirit who brought forth the Scriptures, allow the lie to be believed. But, the other is more deceptive.

The person falsely speaking for God however, may be saying very nice things, Scriptural things, and things without the least contradiction; they are being said, however, without unction, without compulsion, without authority to speak. Through this kind of false prophet we are led into creaturely activity (fleshly motivated good works) and this subsequently causes an erosion of active communion with God to take place.

The Clothing of a Shepherd

All that being said, we are warned to beware of the false prophets because they wear the “clothing of a shepherd” (sheep’s clothing) and are inwardly starving, and desperate wolves. Sometimes “sheep’s clothing” is misunderstood to mean that these starving wolves dress themselves up like sheep, but it is, more correctly, the clothing of a shepherd that they don in order to deceive. They don’t try to look like sheep; they try to look like a shepherd, which is an office awarded to only one, our Christ Jesus. It is the intention of these wicked “shepherds” not to feed, but to fleece and flay, and the first step, toward that end, is deception.

A person intending to deceive must work first at appearances. With the warning that we will “know them by their fruits,” the deceiver must surround himself with fruit. This is why we may find grapes on thorns but must realize they didn’t grow there. There are many who tout their accomplishments – not to gloat, but to deceive.

Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I [will] in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” (John 15:4) From this verse, you must realize that any fruit borne OUTSIDE of Christ is corrupt fruit. This is not as easy to prove as it is to sense. If you are born of the incorruptible seed, you have within you the Holy Spirit who will witness to this, and therefore, you must maintain a clear conscience and contrite heart in order to hear the slightest whisper of His warning.

These issues of life from your heart are the only true defense against the false prophets, the endless parade of literature, books, movies, preachers, Bible translations and close dear friends and family who mean well, but are in error. “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

You must be vigilant and even suspicious to every twitch within you as you read, hear, and see things from all sources, accepting only that which the Lord reveals to you as true and worthy. The Scriptures secondarily, are never to be compromised as they were penned by men under the unction and authority of the Holy Spirit of God.

It would never insult a true prophet for someone to doubt, then check, and wait for confirmation from God on any revelation given them. Paul commended the Bereans for this. “These were nobler than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11) It is only the false prophet that leads people away from Christ’s witness within, and the Scripture’s witness without.

There are many fruits which are ascribed only to the children of God, and many which are found only on the withered and diseased branch of the false prophet. These fruits are well worth your attention and study.

When you determine a man to be truthful and faithful by the fruit abounding around him, you must be careful that you are not ascribing fruit to his ministry that did not grow there. I have seen whole churches full of proselytes.

A grape stuck on a thorn is not abiding in the vine. Although you may find a bramble bush loaded with grapes, Jesus wants us to know that they did not grow there. You should ask yourself, “Do men gather grapes from thorns?”