Are you a Highlighter?

Matthew 11:25-28

Are you a highlighter, I am and when reading a book I highlight the points I want to reread and remember.  From the time I asked Jesus into my life I’ve highlighted verses in each of the Bibles I’ve owned, and sometime gone back and underlined those passages.  Such is the case with Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Many a person has asked, what do you do with your time now that you’re not working?  In that I’ve been between Jobs for 6 years, some refer to this as retirement, but I did not retire from work, I only retired from getting paid for what I am doing.  And with that said, lets get honest, the older I get the heavier the burden seems to get, and I need more than anything in my life, to run to the One who can fulfill the promise of Matthew 11:28-30. 

But why did Jesus ask us to come to Him?  A great question, and best answered by Jesus’ own words.  Because He created us and knows our thoughts and actions, He knew that people like you and me would want to look good, and especially in a religious setting.  Jesus addressed such actions and how they affect our soul an example is given by Dr. Luke in Luke 11:37-53.  In those verses Jesus is addressing the way Pharisees and lawyers use their religion to control and use those under them.  Picking up the story in Luke 11:46, and he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.”  It seems the old is forever new, is it not lawyers who get laws passed to control and make money for their special interest groups, with no concern for the load it puts on their fellow citizens.

Why does Jesus ask you to come to Him?  Jesus said this to you, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”  (John 6:35-40)

I have one problem with highlighting, it’s all inspired by God, and often the Holy Spirit will show me that I missed the heart of the message, and that is true when I went back and highlighted verse 27, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

We have a history of God's Blessing

Matthew 11:20-24

From the beginning of mankind, we have a history of God’s blessing to man and mankind being deceived by the one Jesus calls the “Enemy or Thief” in John 10:10, and then rebelling against God who has blessed them.  Do you recall your dad telling you this little riddle, “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me,” after being caught in some kind of scheme where someone took advantage of you.  And what about when it was your own scheme, it was you wanting your way and yet knowing all the time that it was an action of rebellion against the authority in your life?  My dad often would give me a pass on the first offense, but had no tolerance for a second offense.

In my search to understand why you and I are such easy targets of the one Jesus calls the “thief,” I ran across these three quotes: “I always believed in God and Christ, but I was in rebellion – trying to make my relationship with God fit into my life instead of making my life fit in with him.  I was stubborn.” (Scott Stapp)  The next quote is from John Elliot,  “Unwillingness to accept God’s “way of escape” from temptation frightens me what a rebel yet resides within.”  The last quote comes from one of the great thinkers, C.S. Lewis, “A creature revolting against a creator is revolting against the source of his own powers--including even his power to revolt. It is like the scent of a flower trying to destroy the flower.”

Jesus is giving a “Woe” to the unrepentant cities where most of his mighty works have been done.  “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”  (Matthew 11:21-24)

After looking for the many miracles done in these places, I turned to HCSB (Study Bible) and looked at the footnotes on page1633, this is what I found; “These verses remind us that the Gospels are not exhaustive accounts of Jesus life.  Jesus performed most of His miracles in Chorazin . . . Bethsaida, and Capernaum, and yet the Gospels do not describe His miracles at Chorazin and mentions only two that were performed at Bethsaida (Mk 6:45; 8:22; Lk 9:20).  God’s judgment against sin is more tolerable for people to whom little revelation is given.  On the other hand, those who have received much revelation bear greater responsibility and thus incur greater judgment for their unbelief.”

So that brings us to your nation that has the gospel of Jesus Christ and the free gift of salvation has been written about in your language?  If so, it is grace time, but will God not extend both his grace and his judgment on your nation?  I have no doubt that the United States of America will stand in more judgment than Sodom!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

He came in the spirit of Elijah

Matthew 11:13-19

“For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  It was John who introduced the Jewish world to the Messiah, and this happened the day after the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask, “Who are you?”  He confessed and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ.”  And they asked him, “What then?  Are you Elijah?” He said, I am not.” Are you the Prophet?”  And he answer, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you?  We need to give an answer to those who sent us.  What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”  (John 1:19-23)

It’s one day later, and John sees Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’  I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”  And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.  I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’  And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:29b-34)

Now some have said that John seemed to not be in agreement with Jesus about whose spirit was living in him, but the angel Gabriel gave us this insight in Luke’s gospel chapter 1:16-17, “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” The Jews were looking for Elijah the Tishbite, in person, and John answered correctly that he was not him, but it was the spirit of Elijah that was living inside of him, as prophesize in Malachi 4:5, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.” 

Jesus understood the minds and hearts of the Jews that were listening and He also has a complete understanding of your thoughts, and that is why He said; “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  So the question is being asked once more, are you willing to accept that Jesus tells the truth?  Could what Jesus said about that generation not also be said about ours?  “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Least in the Kingdom

Matthew 11:11

This statement by Jesus may confuse the casual reader, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of woman there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.  Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”  Reflecting on what the Scriptures tell us about John should bring clarity to this verse in the gospel according to Luke.  Let’s begin with the parents of John, what kind of people were they?  In Luke 1: 5 we are told that the dad was a priest named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth was from the daughters of Aaron.  And in verse six we have this information, “And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” Now that should blow your doors off, that is not Luke’s opinion, that is what the Holy Spirit is telling him to put on paper for you and me.  Do you remember what God said about Job, in Job 1:1, “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.”  The parents of John, as well as Job, fall in a very small group of people that God has spoken of in this way.

So we now understand John had very special parents, but what made John so great?  We find the key in Luke 1:14-15,  ^“And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.” It is important to know who brought this message to John’s dad, none other than the ark angel Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God.  Luke gives us this account of the school that the Holy Spirit sent John to, until his public appearance to Israel, “And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel. (Luke 1:80)

The last part of that verse should not disturb us, the Holy Spirit knew that John would not live to see the works of Jesus, nor would he be subject to Jesus’ teachings that the disciples and apostles, and even you and I would be exposed to.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

What were you Expecting?

Matthew 11:7-10

“What did you go out into the wilderness to see?”  As a child, my dad would often ask a question much like this, “Bobby, what did you expect from that action?”  And why did you expect the outcome to be different than the last time you did the same thing?  Jesus is asking the crowd that gathered, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?”  And it was a rhetorical question, and He was not expecting a reply, so He answered, “A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.”

The gospel according to Mark in chapter 1:1-8, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”  I often worry that when we call John the Baptist a “Forerunner” many will wonder why we are calling him a Toyota car. Many who in name are Christian, have no real understanding of Biblical truths, if they were to read Isaiah 40:3, they would not have a clue that Isaiah the prophet was referring to John the Baptist, or to Christ’s earthly ministry.

It might be helpful to examine this phrase; “A reed shaken by the wind?  Jesus is using a metaphor of a reed swaying in the wind, for a person who lacks conviction and is easily swayed by public opinion, like many in our government.  But John was not such a man; he was on a mission from God to proclaim the coming of Messiah.  With that said, from heavens-view what kind of a person are you?  I ask myself that question often.  It matters what my family, friends, neighbors, and those I attend church with will say at my funeral, as they look at an earthsuit that is void of life, but if what they say does not match what God is saying, it was all in vain.

So stand for your convictions, do not be swayed by others, and remember that you were placed here for such a time as this.  If you are in Christ, then you are the King’s kid, and we win, I am often reminded that God has promised; “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:17)  So my counsel is listen and do whatever the Holy Spirit is telling you, for that is the victory that over comes the world.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The real Deal

Matthew 11:1-6

Have you ever wondered if someone who seems so perfect is the real deal?  If so you are in lock step with John the Baptist, and in John’s case he was not free to go investigate so he sent some of his disciples to Jesus, because he had heard from prison about the deeds of the Christ.  And this was the question they were to ask of Jesus; “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” The following is Jesus’ reply; “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

If you and I were to go and tell what we were seeing Jesus doing in our home, in our neighbor’s lives, in our churches, and in our lives, would anyone want to leave father and mother and home to follow Him?  If that is a question you have not considered, grab a tea or coffee and go away from the noise, and ponder on that thought.  Do I expect to see Jesus in the life of others who follow Him, not at church but at the market place, in the home, and on the golf course, or wherever I come in contact with them.  If not, then why, could it be your flesh has a strong hold in the world system, and you have lost your first love, that is, if Christ was your first love.

If you ask me that question, I would tell you about seeing Jesus in Jan as she serves me and others in our home and in our neighborhood, and how kind and gentle she is as she mentors girls at New Life each week.  I would tell you about my friend Craig Hearn who allows Jesus to use his lips to play a Saxophone for the glory of God, and that Christ in him is touching people all over an in many countries by setting them free from the chains of sin.  I could tell you about so many others who will never be noted by this world, but who are allowing Jesus to use them in the market places to restore marriages and families, and many who have a heart for the poor.

How often we miss the heart of God, and from the beginning of mankind God has spoken on this one thing, but many in the church have not heard.  As we read again what Jesus told them to report to John, what got your attention: “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up."   Now be honest, was it that the poor have good news preached to them?  That’s not exciting, but if the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the dead are raised, that’s exhilarating, that stirs the fibers of our hearts, but Jesus said just as important, just as sensational is that the poor hear the good news.

So let me share about a man with that heart, the heart of Christ for the poor, or the under resourced as Ray often states.  Ray Still is my pastor, and Jesus is using him to touch the under resourced in many places in and out of the United States, but where I’ve seen with my own eyes, is in New Braunfels, Texas.  Because of Jesus living out His life in Ray, the following ministries are taking place in New Braunfels; one is Kids’ Club, and it began by seeing the need to serve at risk students who attend any of the eight NBISD elementary schools.  To do so, an old charter school in the downtown area was bought and rebuilt, to house and minister to the mind and soul of these under resourced children.  Next, came the purchase of a church across the street to be used as a Counseling Center and it’s goal is to minister to both the spiritual and to impact the mind and soul of any and all who come through those doors.  In the same area, Jesus used Ray and others to see the need for New Braunfels “Volunteers in Medicine Clinic.”  In Comal County over 25,000 residents do not have health insurance and forgo medical treatment.  It is a Christ-centered environment and the volunteers allow Jesus to use them with the low-income families to receive care they need, at no cost to the patient.  In the last few years, a food pantry was opened and we are partnering with Communities and Schools to identify those with the greatest needs.  Once more, it is Christ living His life through the people of Oakwood.

If I was to share all that I see Jesus doing through people, great things in and through them, this would turn into a book, and I’m sure this is way too long.  But let me tell you, I’ve seen Jesus, and He is alive and working on planet earth!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Are you open to Giving up your Rights?

Matthew 10:40-42

How much stock do you put into the promises of God in the Bible, or maybe a better question to the church of 2014 is; do you and I hold to the promises in the Bible?  Some of those promises are made to God’s chosen people, so the question must be asked, does that remove those promises from applying to me as a follower of Christ?  Turn in your Bibles to Galatians 3:24-29, “Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.”  And the question must be asked; what promise?  The promises made to Abraham that allowed you to become the same as a son of Abraham, and by putting on Christ, an heir of God.  But it is by faith in Christ one is justified and is no longer a slave, but a son with full rights as an heir to God’s vast treasures.

Jesus was telling each of us who lose our life for His sake, or maybe better stated in todays understanding; give up our rights and obey the Holy Spirit’s leadership in our life.  This is what is in store for such a follower of Christ; “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” (Matthew 10:40-42)

When the jackpot in the lottery gets into the upper millions, people come out of the woodwork to buy a chance at winning the big reward.  And if you follow the stories of what comes next in most of their lives, it is not good.  But when one lives with a desire to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, the rewards are of great value, rewards like love, joy, and peace, and life abundantly.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

"Faith is the Victory"

Matthew 10:34-39

Of the books I’ve read on Faith, none have shaped my belief system more than “Faith is the Victory” by Buell H. Kazee.  W.O. Carver gave this review in the introduction of the book, “In our mechanistic and sophisticated world the word faith has lost its power.  It has even lost its meaning – now when we need it most.  “In this book,” says Mr. Kazee; “we want to return to that God who does things for us, and who, by his matchless deeds for us, makes sinners dissatisfied with the gods they have.”  Persuasively Kazee shows us how the faith principle can work in our lives, and the believer how he can enter into the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.”  In the present crisis, this timely call for an unsophisticated faith is the only possible answer to the question, how can we please God and work out our salvation?”  Those words were printed in January 1951, when most of us would not have referred to the world as all that sophisticated, not in comparison to 2013.

In making a point on the verses listed above, let me take this one paragraph from pages 19-20 in Buell H. Kazee book on faith; “Of course, modern Christianity has another view of this matter.  Religious leaders of today often feel that if we will be similar enough to the world so as not to embarrass it, the world will want to come in and add to our numbers.  And so it will, only it will want to bring into our midst its heathen gods and customs and compromise our allegiance to our God.  That is what has happened in the modern church.  The result is that we have had to build a religious program that will please the world mind, but minus the power of God.” 

With the above quote in mind and the vast change in culture since 1951, how do you think Matthew 10:34-36, will work in a church growth program of one of the Mega churches of 2013?  Will these words of Jesus be preached on Sunday; “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth?  I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

As I read this, it became clear that I needed to share more of what Kazee said in his book on Faith, as he addressed living a life of separation to God.  The Jews coming out of Egypt had forgotten to do this and so before they could go any farther into the promise land it required those who had not kept the covenant made with Abraham of circumcision to do so.  Now picking up the message by Kazee, “This neglect is a symbol of world conformity in the church of this day.  If there is any one thing which God required of His people above another, it is that they be separate, not only from the world, but unto Him.  There must not only be allegiance to God, but there must be no allegiance to any other.”

It may be a hard message, but C.T. Studd had this to say about his relationship with Christ, “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”  How true, and all of us as parents of children need to heed these words of Jesus, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Persecution will come

Matthew 10:16-25

Persecution will come

Jesus is making this promise and if we are paying attention, He also is promising that He is coming back.  Could these be two promises ignored by the Church of 2014?  If you believe this is only addressing the 12 apostles then how do explain verses 24-25, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.”  As I age, I am reminded of these words from Carroll Ray Jr., “Act like Jesus tells the truth” and this truth is repeated in the Scriptures, persecution will come to all who follow and abide in Christ Jesus.  In the gospel according to John, we have this message from Jesus, “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.” (John 16:20-21)

God has put you and me in charge of church growth in 2014, not to develop a new plan to attract converts to His Church, has the plan changed?  Now in no way am I saying God has changed the plan given by Christ to His disciples and apostles, but I am looking at what is taking place in the culture of the church of 2014.  It’s a watered-down message, a message of blessing and prosperity, never of suffering and it is a church that will not stand when the storms come, when the church is persecuted, for it is not built on truth; Jesus is Truth.

And this is what Truth has said, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:16-22)

Let me give a good report, many are in a Church that proclaim the truth, and those churches are preparing the follower of Christ to stand in persecution.  Jan and I are blessed to be part of such a church, and if yours is not, pray for your pastor and encourage him to proclaim the full gospel of our Lord.  Remember the promise of Jesus when He said; “For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Who is your targer Audience?

Matthew 10:5-15

“And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.”

As I read Matthew’s account of Jesus sending out His twelve apostles, the verse above jumped off the page at me.  Can you imagine God giving you the ability to give peace to a family if it is worthy, and to take it back if it is not worthy?  If you go back to chapter 10:1, you understand that Jesus has authority and these twelve men were operating under His authority, as if it was Jesus who was casting out the unclean spirits, or healing every disease, and every affliction.

It is very important for us to see that Jesus gave them very stringent guidelines to operate under as listed in Matthew 10:5-12, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.”

Jesus leaves no question on who is the target audience; they are to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, no one else, and now you might understand why Peter’s dream about eating defiled food, to the Jew, was such a hard thing for him, and yet the voice that was speaking to him in his vision said, “What God has made clean do not call common.”  And we know that Cornelius, a centurion over the Italian Cohort, a devout Gentile who feared God with his entire household, had a vision where God told him to send men for Peter.  So he did as God had instructed him and sent to Joppa for Peter.  And we know from reading the account in Acts 10, of all that God did when two men listened and obeyed the voice of the Lord.  What you and I should take away is that Jesus was with them in human form, when He send out the twelve, and when He sent Peter to Cornelius’s home, Jesus was in heaven at the Father side, but He was living His life in and through Peter, just as He is living His life in and through you and me.

As they went out, whose authority were they under, and when you go whose authority are you under?  If you understand that question, then you will not limit God’s authority in your life.  Do you recall when Jesus sent out the seventy-two disciples and they came back and reported, and this was that report in Luke 10:17, “The seventy-two returned with Joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.”

Do you know or have you ever read about anyone other than these twelve apostles that went out to the mission field with so little, and with very strict guidelines on what to take with them and to take no offering for support, just trust the One who has given you the assignment.  I’ve read of such men, one that comes to my mind is C.T. Studd, who was born December 2, 1860, Spratton, Northamptonshire, England, and died 16^th of July 1931, Ibambi, Belgian Congo.  C.T. was from a very wealthy family and at 25 he got notice of coming of age and the amount of money that was to be his.  I have read but could not find the quote, that C.T. said, if I had one shilling in my pocket, I might trust in that and not in God, so he gave away his inheritance.  The following is part of his testimony:  “God has promised to give a hundredfold for everything we give to him. A hundredfold is a wonderful percentage; it is ten thousand percent. God began to give me back the hundredfold wonderfully quick. Not long after this I was sent down to Shanghai. My brother, who had been very ill, had gone right back into the world again. On account of his health the doctors sent him round the world in search of better. He thought he would just come and touch at Shanghai and see me. He said he was not going to stay very long for he was mighty afraid he would get too much religion. He took his berth for Japan about the next day after he arrived. But God soon gave him as much religion as he could hold and he cancelled that passage to Japan and stayed with me six months. When I saw that brother right soundly converted I said, "This is ten thousand per cent and more."

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The plan is to kill it and start over again.

Galatians 5:16-17

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

It is my personal belief that we do not understand what the Spirit of the Living God is telling us through the apostle Paul, for who would not please God if they knew how to do so?  That is unless more is going on than we grasp, but this I believe with all my heart, when you and I entered into Christ something got Crucified.  Now if that did not happen, close your Bible and pick up some other book to find your way to live life on planet earth.  For it is written, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  (Galatians 2:20)   We know that when you crucified someone they died, and God is telling us that when we entered into Christ something died, and that something was the old man, the sin nature.  But the flesh is still very much alive, and the flesh has been programed from birth to get its needs met outside of Christ.  So you are a new Creation with flesh that has an appetite for the world and the things of the world.  My friend Bill Gillham would often say these words; “Have you discovered that the Christian life is not difficult to live?  It’s impossible!  Jesus Christ is the only one who has ever really lived the Christian life, and He is the only one who can live it today . . . and that is what He wants to do in you and through you!”

Bill and Anabel who have a total understanding of these truths today, for they are in the presence of our Lord, enjoying the fullness of worship with the others who have gone to the Father.  These two taught many of us about the two ways for a Christian to walk in this world: According to the flesh, and in the Spirit, and walking by the flesh is not just doing bad things.  I will use Bill’s word; “What it is: depending on yourself and your own abilities to get your needs met apart from Christ.  The cardinal sin of man is independence from God.”  And what about walking in the Spirit!   “What it is not: religious activity.  What it is: allowing Jesus to live His life through you.”

Bill was a great teacher and communicator and he would use these three points to help us understand what the Bible calls flesh.  “Point 1) God is love.  You were created by God to be loved unconditionally.  Only God loves unconditionally, therefore you need God.  Point 2) God created laws (ways) to govern the universe.  All of His ways are good.  Point 3) each of you showed up on planet earth with the need to be loved (Point 1).  Instead of getting your needs met God’s way (Point 2), you developed your own ways of getting your needs met.  This is what the Bible calls “flesh.”

Do you recall, Paul began chapter 5 talking about freedom and how we had been set free from the control of sin, and we have.  Each day, and many times a day, we choose to sin or not to sin, each day we choose to believe Jesus tells the truth, or to listen to the deceptive channel I call number One, and buy into how to get our needs met outside of Christ, who is our life.  A Key Concept Bill taught on the flesh: “God has no plan to make something beautiful of your life (in Adam).  The plan is to kill it and start over again.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Some Doubted

Matthew 10:1-4

“And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.”

When you give thought to the word authority, what is the connotation that comes into your mind?  These things pop into my mind, the right to command, a powerful person, a boss, a parent, a police person, and government.  But all of these have limited powers, and none of them have the ability to give you power over the spiritual world, and none have the authority to heal every disease and every affliction.  Jesus tells His eleven disciples, after His resurrection, to go to Galilee to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them, and on seeing Him they worshiped Him, but some doubted.  And this was the message Jesus had for them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Are you part of “the some doubted group,” it is not that bad of a group, for after Pentecost when God poured out His Spirit, these doubters were filled with the Holy Spirit and they understood the authority given them.  The message to the Jewish person was this; “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” (Hebrews 1:1-4)

As a disciple or better yet, a follower of Christ, has he given you and me this authority?  Now we live in a world that loves the power that comes with authority, and yes, you see authority misused in some Christian circles, in government and in the home, where they want everyone to submit to their authority.  As a follower of Christ, this should be our goal, to remember in whose authority we operate. We have no authority, not any; zero to come against the powers of darkness in our own strength. We come against them in the Name of Jesus. It is His authority, not ours.

And that is in keeping with what Jesus told us: “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.”  (John 12:44-49) 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

From the Safety of my Television

Matthew 9:35-37

“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Have you ever known anyone like Jesus?  If you answer yes, then you have met a person whose identity is not in them, but in Christ.  Often, when I see the crowds it is most always from a very safe place, my television, and there is not a spirit of compassion but of disapproval for them, why? 

Could the problem be somewhere in the recesses of my heart I’ve forgotten that but for the grace of God; there goes me?  And the answer to the question is yes, I’ve forgotten not in my mind, but in my heart that Jesus Christ came to save, to give life now and eternal life to all who will by faith put trust in Him.  Jesus changes a person, I know because He has changed me.  So I must ask myself one more question: will my disdain have any impact on the life of this crowd that opposes all I believe in?  And once more the answer is no, but it will effect my mind, my heart, and not allow Jesus Christ to use me.  And who knows, it could be by confessing this heart issue to you, the reader; God may put His finger on your heart to pray for me.

As I look at the crowd from the safety of my television, it becomes apparent that Jesus being God, is not limited by time or space, He is always present and He lives His life in and through His followers.  And this question must be asked, is Jesus a “Tea Party, a Democrat, Republican, or is He Liberal, or a Conservative kind of guy?” And once more we must come to the conclusion; none of the above, He is the same today, as He has always been, God, the Creator, who took on flesh, became lower than the angels who He created, to buy us back out of the control of sin, by shedding His blood to cover our sin.

And this is what He said to you and me, and also to those disciples at the time He walked in human form on this planet, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”  The question is not will you and I get away from the safety of the television into the crowd, but will we pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

We Gather or we Scatter

Matthew 9:32-34

Have you ever been a witness to a great event?  Maybe you were in the ball park when the Astros won a game, only kidding, but you could have been at a ball park when Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth’s home run record, or you may have been invited to a special event at the White House, or you might have been to a Billy Graham Crusade where thousands ask Jesus Christ to forgive their sin and left there forgiven.   It matters not the event for as you are leaving the occasion, it’s what has happen not what is about to take place that you are consumed with.  But it is not the case with Matthew’s account of the two men who were blind, who are now leaving with sight, very good sight, someone brings a man who Matthew describes in this manner.  “As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”

Never forget the Pharisees are the teachers of the Law, the leaders of the Jewish religion, and the ones with the authority to put you out of the Temple, and they said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”  For some reason unknown to us, the Holy Spirit did not choose to address Jesus’ reply in Matthew 9:34, but in Matthew 12:22-30, where Jesus has healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute and once more the people are astonished and the Pharisees say Jesus is doing so by Beelzebub, the prince of demons.  This is Jesus’ reply to the Pharisees; “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

So it seems that Jesus has drawn a line and each of us are on one side or the other, we   gather or we scatter.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice