Greater

1 John 4:4

          Have you ever overheard a conversation and been confused by what you heard? You know you must be missing some pieces of information, but you just can’t figure out what you heard. You were never the intended audience of the message, so the missing information makes the communication incomplete and useless.

          During war to keep plans secret the military often uses code words to convey a message. They might say “cobra” and that means go blow up the building. But someone who overhears or intercepts the message will have no idea about the plan’s details. They won’t even know that “cobra” is an execution order. They might know it is something, but have no idea.

          Messages using code words could be broadcast over the open airwaves without fear of exposing the plan. They would just be put into a story that the uniformed person would read or hear and think, that was a nice story. But to the one with the inside information, they would receive the message and know exactly what to do next.

          Our text today doesn’t apply to everyone. It is specifically for Jesus-followers. Those on the outside, without the knowledge of Christ, won’t know what John is talking about because they have never experienced it. They don’t know what the indwelling power of God feels like. They aren’t the dear children. They haven’t been included in the group of people who are aware of the presence and power Satan. They blissfully walk through life unaware of the influences that Satan has on them and their world.

          Not so, with the Jesus-follower. We are aware of the spiritual nature of the battles in this life. We pay attention, not drifting through the spiritual stream of life. We have purpose and have the ability to be in step with the Spirit, hearing His discernment in situations. He enables us to hear the false in the false teacher’s message. Because we have the Spirit, He will be guiding us into all truth.

          John tells us that we have overcome Satan and His schemes. It is not that we have in ourselves strength to overcome, but that God now is with us as a loving parent would be with their child. Protection and guidance are two of the greatest roles that parents fulfill in their jobs as parents. And now we have the Holy Spirit of God who is with us and overcomes Satan in our lives. It is not our power that accomplishes this mission. It is, instead, the power and presence of the LORD that does it.

          The LORD is greater than Satan, just as the watchmaker is greater than the watch. Satan is a created being. The LORD is the Creator. He brought Satan into being and is still more powerful than he is. That is why we can have confidence in battle. No matter what false teaching that might come our way, if we keep to the core of the Gospel, His power will enable us to overcome.

          Remember, this is not written to non-believers. Only Jesus-followers have the assurance of overcoming power at their disposal. Non-believers have no assurance of God’s protection and care. They are not children. They don’t have the right to family protections. They are outsiders, often hostile to the message of hope found in the Gospel.

          But we have the assurance of His presence and protection. Satan cannot overcome us. Our bodies may fail, but we will see Him in all His glory.

One Question

Mark 11:29-30

      It is often important to know a person’s motive for asking a question before you try to answer it. Politicians know this one. They always have to second guess a question before they try to answer it. They think about how their answer could trap them into saying something they don’t want to say. The motive behind the first question leads to the second, follow up question. And just like Colombo, the last question is the one that catches the crook.

      But you might say, that if we always give an honest answer, you never have to worry about getting ‘caught’ saying something you don’t mean. This would be true if there were no second questions, or if all questions were single questions. Let me give you an example.

      The boy is walking with the girl toward the steps. He stops her at the bottom of the stairs and asks, “Do you want me to kiss you now, or at the top of the stairs?” Or this one to a politician: “Are you having an affair, knowing that if you deny it, everyone will believe you are lying.” No matter how you answer, you get caught in the questioner’s trap.

      Jesus has been questioned about the authority He claims from those who hold earthly authority in Jerusalem. We know they are trying to catch Him in saying something that they can use against Him. We know this from their deliberations that they have as they try to answer Jesus question to them.

      That is what is so fantastic about Jesus question to them. He drives right at the heart. His authority is from God, just as John the Baptist’s authority was. They didn’t listen to John, so they aren’t going to listen to Him.

      They are rebelling against God’s authority in their lives and in their roles in society. They are not recognizing His authority. They act on their own, in their own power and wisdom. They think they can do it without God’s help. They probably rationalize it just like we do. We don’t want to bother God with these little matters. He has so much to do. When something really big comes up, then we will take it to Him.

      One final thing. Jesus combines the two questions into one question. He knows that ultimately all authority is God’s authority. He gives us to us on loan. His authority is Authority. Our authority, no matter the realm, is derivative. Without Him, our authority doesn’t exist. So be careful to recognize His authority over every area of life. People who don’t recognize authority here on earth, don’t recognize God’s authority over their lives. They are in rebellion.

Two Questions

Mark 11:27-28

      When people feel threatened they will do some unusual things. Fear is a very powerful emotion. People have been killed because of fear’s power to overtake rational thought. Fear is one of our most basic emotions. God put it in us to protect us from harm. Fear is a God thing. And one of the greatest sources of fear is the fear of being alone, separated, unconnected to other people.

      Infants overcome fear when their parents respond appropriately to their cries for safety and security. When the infant is held and comforted, their fear drops. They learn that they are important and that others will respond to them when they need help. They are worthwhile and others can be trusted. When infants are not cared for properly, then they develop a fear response that can last a lifetime. They learn that they are not worthy of response, that others can’t be trusted to meet their needs, or both. Their lives become detached from others, or stuck in a yoyo of pull for connection and pushing away from others.

      The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were driven by fear. They saw the things Jesus was doing. They heard the power of His teaching and its ability to cut right through their carefully constructed superstructure they had built around the Law and the LORD, and they felt threatened. Their jobs were at stake. Their place in society was at stake. Everything they believed about themselves and the world around them was at stake. For them this was not a dry academic issue. If they believed what Jesus was saying and doing, everything in their lives would have to change.

      Jesus is in town for the Passover Festival. This third day of His visit He arrives back in Jerusalem and is walking in the Temple Courts, the area outside the official Temple. This courtyard is where He caused a ruckus two days previously when He drove all the commercial activities out. This place was supposed to be a place of prayer.

      He is walking around and is approached by three groups of religious leaders. They have formed an alliance to deal with the Jesus problem. They have in mind catching Jesus in some claim that would warrant His death. Their powers are limited, so they must plan their move well. It must be a coordinated effort, or they won’t succeed.

      So they gather to question Jesus. They want to put Him on the spot, catch Him off guard. They start by questioning the nature of His authority. What kind of authority is it? Is it civil or religious authority? Is it authority that will overthrow the system, or authority that will exist within or alongside the system? This first question and its answer will define their role in the future if Jesus isn’t stopped. Their survival is on the line.

      The second question is equally important. It is about the origin of Jesus’ authority. Who gave you this authority? Is it just Jesus full of Himself, or is He sent from someone else? Jesus doesn’t have any inherent right to authority because of His lineage or status in society. There were many people who were descendent of King David. He wasn’t born into the right family or educated by the right people. He is a common craftsman from a backwater town. Lately He had been hanging around will all the wrong people.

      Someday, people will be questioning us about our authority to do the things we will be doing. They will want to shut us down, stop our caring for the poor and acts of kindness. They will want to muzzle our boldness in sharing the fact that Jesus is the only way. They will threaten us with punishment, even death. They will put us in prison, labor camps and kill us. They will do to us what they are doing to other Jesus-followers in Iraq and other Muslim countries. Are you ready to tell the truth about your authority?

First Assignment

Mark 6:6-7

      Just about every job requires some training from the employer. Some jobs, like the military, take months of training before you can even begin to work. And then you often work very closely with someone, someone with more experience. To become one of the best soldiers take years of training. Even when you don’t become one of the best, the military is constantly training because their skill set is so perishable.

      Every job has some on the job training. It might be as simple as, “Here is the shovel. Go dig.” But often you have to learn the company way of doing things. Many of the branded companies spend a lot of time teaching new employees certain ways of doing very common things.

      When you walk into a Moe’s restaurant, all the employees shout, “Welcome to Moe’s.” When you enter an Apple store you are greeted by someone in a colored shirt. Orange is here to help you find who you need to find. Royal Blue are the managers. Navy Blue are the Geniuses to help with tech problems. Light Blue are the sales people and the ones who ring you up when you want to pay. All this is learned during orientation.

      Jesus has His disciples in this kind of orientation program. He has been letting them watch Him in action. They have seen Him do many miraculous things. He has done all these things not wanting to draw attention to Himself. He does them and tells those people He has touched to not tell anyone else. Humility!

      When Jesus sends the disciples out He sends them in pairs. It would be interesting to know who was paired with whom. Did Peter get one of the quieter disciples paired with him? We don’t know. Were they paired to make the strongest pairs overall? Or were there strong teams and weak teams?

      When He sends them out He gives them one tool: His authority. They are not out there on their own. They aren’t allowed to do their own thing. They are there under Jesus’ authority. They were there to do what Jesus told them to do.

      And Jesus gives them His trademark: they have authority over impure spirits. Those pesky demonic spirits don’t stand a chance in Jesus’ presence. And now they don’t stand a chance in the disciple’s presence. They have the authority to command them to leave. This is a God kind of power. Remember, they didn’t have it on their own. They only have it because Jesus gave it to them for this specific mission.

      We have some authority for the LORD as well. How are you using His authority in your life?

Authority’s Care

Mark 4:39

      Have you ever been afraid of a barking, growling dog? It catches you off guard and suddenly there it is, and you are on its lunch menu. I am sure you have seen the news stories about dogs mauling people. If the people survive the damage is long-lasting and often life-altering. One breed is often the culprit. They have been breed to be mean and then the owners wonder how their dog could have done such a thing. Some places have banned the bread altogether.

      I have been caught by surprise several times in my life. In those moments I just want to yell, “Shut Up!” and have the dog obey. But that doesn’t seem to work, at least for me. A few times there has been a temporary lull in the barking, but then it starts right back up again. My words just don’t have any power over the dogs. But when the owner comes out and speaks to the dog, it listens. The owner’s words mean something to the dog. The dog recognizes the owner’s authority to get them to shut up.

      Words like this don’t mean much unless there is authority to back them up. If you try to tell someone else’s teenager to stop something, they just look at you and say, “You’re not my parent” and walk away. They know we don’t have the authority to get them to obey.

      Jesus has been asleep in the back of the boat. The storm has overtaken them, and even the experienced sailors are taken up in fear. They have tried everything they know and still there is no change in their situation. They think Jesus doesn’t care. Nothing could be further from the truth.

      Lack of action does not mean lack of care. And what Jesus does to solve the problem of the storm shows that He does care about their safety. Once Jesus is awoken He simply speaks to the storm and it obeys. The word Jesus uses for “quiet” or “shut up” is the same word Jesus uses when He is telling demons to be quiet, to stop speaking.

      When someone is “quiet” in this sense they are unable to talk because they know the person who told them to be quiet has the authority to tell them and the power to enforce the silence. Jesus spoke to demons and they obeyed because Jesus in God, and He has the authority and the power to back up His words with actions, actions that will result in involuntary silence. Jesus is like the dog’s owner or the teenager’s parents. He has authority to speak to demons and tell them to shut up.

      Jesus talks to the storm as if it were a noisy dog under His authority. And the storm listens because it is under His authority. Jesus has the right to speak to the storm. It may be very hard for us to accept, but Jesus has the right to control the weather because He is the One who created the weather.

      Before you get too far off course, just because He created it does not mean that every weather related tragedy is a distinct act of God aimed at those who are affected. Jesus does not send lightning bolts at people to carry out judgment. At this point in time God allows the results of sin to move in the world and this includes weather.

      The Psalms (89:8-9; 104:5-9; 106:8-9; 107:23-32) declare that the LORD has authority over the elements. He created them and He can take them under control of them at a moment’s notice. That is because He has the authority to do so.

      I would not suggest that you become a “Storm Chaser” and travel the country speaking to storms. You don’t have that authority. Jesus did and does. He spoke to the storm and it listened and obeyed. As God in the flesh He has that authority.