January 10
Gen 23-24:51 | PS 9:13-20 | Prov 3:1-6 | Matt 8:1-17
After Jesus’ amazing Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, it concludes in 7:28-29, “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.” Consider for a moment what that means, He spoke with authority. Jesus was not arrogant, He spoke forth truth, knowing it was truth, and this took precedence over whether or not He would be liked, respected, whether or not His statements would hurt someone’s feelings or not. We read in Matthew 8:2, “Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” This leper approached recognizing Jesus’ authority. We read of the Roman centurion who requested for one of his servants to be healed in 8:8-9, “But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” This Roman officer recognized authority. We also read in 8:16, “That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick.” Sometimes when we get to the miracles of Jesus, they can seem abstract and random but pay close attention they revealed Jesus’ authority over everything: illness, demons, weather, eventually even over death.
Jesus called us to be His priests, His ambassadors in this lost world. He gave us His Word, 66 books of it, called the Bible. We read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” He gave us the tool necessary to speak with authority, but often we fail, because we don’t adhere to the clear advice offered in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Our problem, as opposed to Jesus is we care too much how we sound, whether or not we will be liked, whether God’s clear counsel offends someone or not. This does not mean that we are to be insensitive, as there was no human more sensitive than the Son of God. It means, He has given us authority, and we more often than not move to a position of opinion rather than authority.
God has spoken forth His authoritative stance on most topics. That is why a study every year through the entirety of His Word is not just a good idea, it is essential. We can clearly state that abortion is wrong, homosexuality is wrong, sex outside of marriage is wrong, etc. It’s not that “I feel” it is wrong. Why should how I feel detract from the weight of God’s Word. This is not arrogant or close-minded it is obedience to God. So, as we continue through this journey, if anyone reads something which goes against their pre-conceived stance on a topic, please repent, or allow your mind to be changed. Each and every time our stance is wrong when it stands in opposition to the clear authority of God’s Word. Such a gift He has lavished upon us, His actual Word, how can we not approach His Word daily, in awe, in anticipation, as to what new and fresh insight the Holy Spirit will reveal to us this day. Praise God!!
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: