Hanging out with Jesus IX: Up the Mountain with Him

Hanging out with Jesus IX: Up the Mountain with Him

Mark 3:7 – 35.      Key verses Mark 3: 13 -19

The passage (Mark 3:7 – 35) presents four kinds of people that sought for Jesus - those who pressured him, those who pursued him, those who persecuted him and those protective of him.  This message is helpful as you seek Jesus to find out which of the four you are and why you need to pursue him up the mountain.

The passage traces Jesus’ moves from the synagogue where he healed a man with a withered hand. What a remarkable miracle. Infirmity is an attack not just on a person but a deprivation of what the person could do without it.  The withered hand deprived the man of opportunity to work for his living using the withered hand. Jesus is always thinking beyond what meets the eyes. When he forgives sin, he is restoring what was lost due to sin.

1) Those who pressured him (Seaside people) Mark 3:7 - 12

From the synagogue, Jesus withdrew to the seaside then went up a mountain before going back to the house. Wherever he went, he continued to share the message and do mighty works. He demonstrated that God’s work is not limited to a special day or a special place. It takes place wherever God’s people are obedient.

The seaside was the market place of those days. It brought people from many regions. It was a place for commerce and trade. It was a place for fishing and was a key hub for water transportation. That being the place where goods and money exchanged hands many people thronged the seaside. When Jesus visited the seaside, his message was relevant. He became busy with crowds pressing on him for deliverance and healing. Wherever there are people there are needs. And wherever there are human needs, Jesus is the answer.

The book of Mark records more of the miracles of our Lord than his teaching discourses.  Jesus turned the seaside from a hive of commercial activity to a hive of commendable miracles.  People from far and near made up the crowd about Jesus because of the great things they heard he did (Mark 3:8).  He had to borrow a boat to control the crowds of many wanting to touch him for freedom from unclean spirits and diseases. He stopped unclean spirits from making him known because they were unfit to do so. The main lesson is that great things Jesus does through his people will also draw crowds today.

2) Those who pursued him (Mountain top people) Mark 3: 13 -19

The biggest responsibility of Adam was obedience and multiplication. He failed on obedience and multiplied disobedient people. The last Adam, Christ was both obedient and multiplied obedient people. By his obedience he provided salvation and his biggest achievement after was sowing in his disciples the seed for multiplication. The seed was a conviction not to keep the good news to themselves but to share it and equip others to do the same (Mathew 28:18 – 20; 2 Tim 2:2). Jesus was popular and attracted a massive adoring crowd around him but that was not enough to make him complacent. He had not come to be popular but to fulfill a purpose. That purpose was to establish a strategy of multiplication of his co-laborers. He needed not only to find needy people and meet their needs but also to mobilize people to send out to do the same - preach, drive out demons and heal.

He called people out of the world and then out of the crowd to go and represent him with power and a message of hope for a needy world. The people that came to see and seek Jesus formed crowds that pressured him. Among them were people that pursued the giver not just the gift.   Jesus filtered the later out when he went up the mountain (Mark 3:13).  It was a place of recess and retirement, which he needed to refresh and to pray. Luke points out that he continued in prayer the whole night (Luke 6:12).

He called close followers from the crowd up the mountain and from among them, he chose the twelve he appointed Apostles. He transformed them from being in the crowd to being in the core.  From crowding Jesus for what he could do for them to being crowd pullers for Jesus. From experiencing his power to exercising it.  Their point of interest was shifted from seeing and touching him to knowing him.  They were not content with pushing and shoving him and pursued him up the mountain.  Those who pursue Jesus up the mountain of prayer are the ones who hear his call to be near him. Those who draw near to him he draws near to them. He calls them to be with him so that he might send them out with power. His formula for their success was to be with him. The solution to lack of power is to be with him. May the Lord send forth more and more of those with him in our day?

Christ chose those that God gave him (John 6:37; 17:6). That is why he needed to pray before choosing. To be disciple makers we teach and model spending time with Jesus in prayer without ceasing.  To be with him in the mountain of prayer, walk with him, live with him and follow him.  He chose them to go and succeed in bearing much fruit (John 15:16). He chose twelve.

Twelve is the number of humanity also with reference to the twelve tribes of Israel. They were ordinary but he transformed them into extraordinary achievers. They were most probably less qualified than most of us.  Jesus does not call the qualified but qualifies the called.  If Jesus had hired you to recruit for him, who would you have chosen. You would have thrown out most of them except Judas and perhaps Bartholomew and Thaddaeus whom we never hear about, if not polished religious experts with theology papers of the day. You would ask for a CV, Jesus offered a plan.  His plan suits you from wherever you begin. You would look at history, experience and education He looked at the future and a heart to follow, learn. You would look at the natural he looked at the spiritual by choosing prayerfully.

He chose the following:

-           Simon to whom he gave the name Peter or ‘rock’.  Simon was highly impulsive But Christ saw his potential.  He later denied Jesus when he needed support the most but repented of what he did.

-           John and James who he called Boarnerges (sons of thunder).  They seemed to be volatile with anger and selfishly competitive. They wished to call down fire from heaven to consume a village of the Samaritans (Luke_9:54).   They fought for top positions (Mark 10:35-39).  They wanted to kick out people who were casting out demons in Jesus name but were not in their group (Mark 9:38). Yet Jesus saw something loud and powerful about them.  In the end, he transformed John into an Apostle of LOVE and tenderness, who referred to himself as the beloved disciple.

-           Mathew as we saw on message VIII of this series was a despised tax collector who cheated people out of their money and betrayed his own people by working for Rome.

-           Simon the zealot. He was part of a group of Jewish extremists organized to overthrow Rome by force if necessary.

-           Thomas a skeptic who only believed after you produced hard evidence.  He said he would not believe unless he saw the resurrected Lord and his pierced hands.

-           Judas Iscariot who was so clever with money matters that he was assigned the group’s purse. He stole from the purse and later betrayed Jesus and committed suicide afterwards.

-           Andrew who introduced his brother Peter to Jesus and we do not hear about him after Christ is crucified.

-           James son of Alphaeus. He seems to have been known mostly for what his parent Alphaeus did.

The others were Phillip, Bartholomew and Thaddaeus

3) Those who persecuted him

You need the mountain experience because down the mountain you face persecutors and people who press for solutions. How blessed to face your persecutors on your way from the mountain of prayer. Jesus met the law experts and Pharisees who hated him and wished him dead. They disliked him because he reproved them and exposed their hypocrisy. Also, they hated him because he won the hearts of the people and dented their influence.  Is it not typical of wrong doers that they often would rather remove the people that reprove them than forsake their wrongdoing? They will rather destroy the mirror than sorting their faces out.  However the more the truth is suppressed, the more it comes out.  The more they hated him the more people valued him and even followed him wherever he went even to his places of rest. 

Some experts from Jerusalem wanted to discredit his work/ dissuade people from following by alleging he cast out demons through Beelzebub. 

-           He gave a lesson. If Beelzebub house stands, how is that possible if it is divided? A divided house cannot stand.

-           He gave an explanation. The only way he was able to ransack Beelzebub’s house and drive out his demons was that he had power over the head of the house and bound him first.

-          He gave a warning. Do not attribute the things of the Holy Spirit to demons. Doing so is an unpardonable sin.

4) Those protective of him

They could not trust Jesus to make sound decisions for himself without their help. How often do we want to help him with handling our life situations and holding our future?  To them he was outside his normal mind and needed to be rescued from endangering his own life. They heard reports that he was not resting and was not even finding room to eat (Mark 3:20, 21). So either out of care or reproach they stood outside the house and send word to summon him. They wanted to monopolize him as their close relation but he taught that he was for all who did God’s will.

Jesus response that he saw people who did God’s will as his family, provide the lesson of the extent to which disciple makers should value their relationship with disciples.  Another lesson is that those serious with disciple making can easily bear with inconveniences in the prosecution of it. They are prepared to make sacrifices to grab opportunities to do what is good.

Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.

Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.

Ground and First Floors Sunset Bay Building,

204B Bram Fischer drive,

Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

Hanging Out With Jesus VIII: Clash of the New and the Old

Hanging Out With Jesus VIII: Clash of the New and the Old

Read Mark 2:13 – 3:6

Key Text is Mark 2:21 – 22

Moving from where you are to where God wants you to be is a change process. In discipleship Jesus  brings that change. He did not only bring life for every person but a process for everyone to pass on the life to others. Bringing change is not easy because accepting change is difficult. Discipleship therefore faces resistance. No wonder Jesus the master discipler and change agent was opposed, quizzed and misunderstood. Unlike the preceding Chapter full of what Jesus did the passage under consideration has more words  of how Jesus  responded to his critics.

Jesus came to establish a new kingdom. He brought a new nature where there was an old nature. A new heart where there was an old heart. A new covenant where there was an old covenant. A new culture where there was an old culture. A new theology where there was an old theology. When you bring the new be prepared for resistance from the old and it's defenders. There are a variety of reasons why the change Jesus brought was resisted.  Many felt secure with the familiar. They had developed convictions about the old way. They had mastered how to live and flourish in the old. They were comfortable  it.  They had invested in synagogues and education about the old. They live under the assumption we have it neatly put together. There is nothing new to learn or embrace, They therefore defended the status quo. They saw the new way  as a threat to the  privileges they enjoyed. His critics therefore even thought spoke in God's name, were not fighting for God but for themselves, their traditions and self-righteousness.  Another reason the change Jesus brought was resisted is the fact that the matter was spiritual. His coming established a new spiritual order and hence faced spiritual resistance.

Jesus' greatest opposition did not come from the sinners – the prostitutes, the alcoholics and the drug pushers. It came first from religious people and then from the political establishment. The Pharisees criticized and disapproved of Jesus. If they did not criticize his teachings, it was his choice of friends and lifestyle, or something else.  Being criticized is already a given in life. Not everyone will like you or applaud you.  Bringing change makes matters worse.

In the passage, five times Jesus responded to those opposed to his message and work. Their hostility escalated from thoughts, indirect, twice direct and to silence and plotting to do physical harm. He was criticized for the following five 'offenses':

1) Forgiving Sin  (2:8)

The Pharisees and scribes questioned in their hearts why he said son, your sins are forgiven,  they pondered Why he spoke that way? He is blaspheming, they asserted.  Who can forgive sins but God alone? They came close to knowing he was God but were in denial.

2) Associating with Sinners   (13-17).

They questioned him through  his disciples. He taught crowds and called Levi. He ate a meal with tax collectors and sinners in Levi’s home.   Question – Why does he eat with tax collectors.

In the passage read Jesus was quizzed about  his eating practices in the light of the law of Moses. It is interesting that the issues raised by the Pharisees were mostly  about eating. what you eat, who you it with and when you eat. Eating is very spiritual. One’s eating habits affect one’s spirituality.

The most controversial choice of a disciple was not Judas but Levi or Matthew.  The Jews hated tax collectors because collected taxes from their own people to hand over to their most hated oppressors the Roman Government. They were considered to be Jews that sided with the Romans and therefore were traitors. They were also considered as extortioners because they laid unfair charges for personal gain. They made a living by overcharging.

All people eat so eating is an opportunity to connect.   Jesus decided who to eat with by  what cause it served. He came to save sinners and had to make contact with them to present his offer.  Like a physician is of benefit to those who are sick and therefore has to make contact with them.  Meeting and eating with sinners is how he found all of us. He saw purpose not just personality or group affiliation. He saw the future more than the past. He saw the inward not just the outward. He saw potential in people more than their present state.

 In Levi he also found a man of peace.  To complete your mission in church, business, work place and village you also need people of peace. They are your advocates. Every project faces advocates and adversaries. People of peace  These value what you offer and make it known to people in need of it and link you up with them.  Through Levi Jesus was able to reach out to many tax collectors and sinners.

As Christians, we should turn from the sinful habits of the world, without isolating ourselves from contact with the people of the world  (2 Corinthians 6:14-17, 1 John 2:15-16). the church is as a hospital where the hurting and needy are ministered.  We need to maintain contact with the unsaved as salt and light. We can have them visit our homes and visit theirs. Create proximity spaces of common interests such as safe environment, sports, etc. You can extend a helping hand in times of need and receive their help. You can tell how Christ changed your life and invite them to relevant gatherings of believers.

3) For not Fasting as Expected (18-22)

They asked why his disciples did not fast like those of  John and of the Pharisees. Jesus made it clear that  he had not come to keep business as usual. He had brought a radical shift to life as a true bridegroom. He brought a new way of thinking and practice. His disciples were therefore in transit from an inferior to a superior way of viewing religious practices.    He associated their fasting with an old dispensation where fasting had become an empty tradition. He brought  new wine or joy that required new wine skins and new garments or covering.  He called it new and implied it was superior than the old. A new patch sewn on an old garment will tear it or new wine poured in old wine skins will burst.

To the Lord Jesus the decision whether to eat or fast must be guided by  spiritual understanding, occasion and season. When a new dispensation was established, the disciples would then fast with a fresh understanding. It would be no longer to earn righteousness or anything but to acknowledge God as superior to the stomach.   Their old wines were religious. For some today they are secular. Whatever you had when you met Christ has to give way to his abundant life. Jesus brought a message so radical that it required a new way of thinking and living. We must also change the way we think to accommodate the new wine in Christ. Since receiving Christ what have you let go. That will tell what you have embraced. What are you holding on to that is holding you back. nothing can hold you back except what you are holding on to. The choice between the old and the new is a forced one. There is no middle option.

4) For Violating the Sabbath/Law (23-28 )  

Jesus was criticized directly for letting his disciples pick grain in the fields as they went along the way. His response was to highlight life before the law.  The law serves people and not vice versa. Everything, the material, times and other things were made for people to use to the glory of God. The laws that govern the relationship of people with time and things were therefore made for people.  They were meant to point people to God.  The Sabbath  was therefore  made for people and not vice versa. The spirit of the law is more important than its letter. Transformation is more important than mere tradition. Function is more important than the form of religion.

To support his argument Jesus gave the precedence of how David when hungry ate the sacred bread reserved for priests.  He also emphasized that observance of the law was to be an acknowledgement of God.  Anything the son of man is not Lord over is an idol.  You can obey as a religion or as a relationship with God.  Jude warned about allowing the stomach to become your god.

5) For Healing a Man with a Withered Hand (3:1-8)

They pondered about healing on Sabbath. He wondered how they had become so insensitive to the plight of a fellow human being. For the legal questions in their heart he asked, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath. To save life or destroy.”    They did not answer.

The bottom line was not the day of healing but their failure to see the need to heal a suffering person. He was grieved by their hardness of heart.  Failure to be moved by the plight of others is a symptom of hardness of heart.  They only focused on wanting to see if he would follow a Sabbath man made tradition.

They thought they knew something about God.  He came to correct  misunderstanding of God.  If you have misunderstood God you will struggle to embrace Jesus. Could you have misunderstood Jesus in your heart? He came to correct your misunderstanding.   If you doubt his ability you have misunderstood him. If you think your situation is irredeemable you have misunderstood him.  You need a new wine skin of his salvation and faith to receive his new wine.

Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.

Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.

Ground and First Floors Sunset Bay Building,

204B Bram Fischer drive,

Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

Hanging Out with Jesus VII: Damage to Peter's House

Hanging Out with Jesus VII: Damage to Peter's House

Mark 2:1-12

The four men who carried their paralysed friend in need through the roof to take him to Jesus in a house offer many lessons. They teach the unstoppable power of determination, friendship, love, team work/cooperation, shared goal, common attitude/faith, united action and intercession.  They bring a challenge - will you spur one another as friends toward love and good deeds. Will you cut a hole in the roof of a house and lower people down to the Lord in prayer? Will you cut the hole in the roof and lower people to the Lord for salvation? Paralysis today could be anger, despair, sickness, alcohol, nicotine, drugs, and promiscuous sexual activity, etc.

Jesus returned ‘home’ to Capernaum - most probably the house of Peter (Mark 1:29). This town was fast serving as the northern base for his ministry. In the previous visit Jesus full of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38) entered the town and announced the good news of the arrival of  the Kingdom of God and demonstrated his great power. He spoke with authority, cast out demons, cleansed lepers and healed diseases of every sort.  Things were happening not only at special places but also in homes, on the wayside, at the seashore, in the wilderness as in synagogues. They happened wherever there was faith. On that occasion  the whole city was at the door waiting for him. Therefore, when he returned, word went round  and people flocked to the house. Amazing things happen when Jesus is in the house.

The four men who carried their paralysed friend to Jesus for a miracle stood out  from the crowd.  Is it possible they were healed on previous occasions and their friend was left out when the whole town had been healed (Mark 1:32)?

The Men’s Determination

They were determined he would not miss out this time. What did they have to overcome?

>> A burden to carry. “…bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.” Mark 2: 3b. It is not easy to carry a person who is so lifeless to help himself or herself. I once helped carry an uncle who was in what seemed to be a coma into an ambulance. It was difficult for three men.  We recovered in days and we did not have to carry him. Burdens are lifted at Calvary. When you carry them to him you won't need to carry them again.

>>Barriers to overcome.  “And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press” Mark 2: 4

>> The crowd. Because Jesus was in the house, the house was filled with people. The needy, the curious and the critics were all gathered in one place. Revival was in progress. The crowds came to be healed but also came to see him and to see what he would do. There was no room left not even by the door. The house was filled with anticipation. Everyone wondered what he would do next.  Many wondered if this was the political messiah would free Israel from occupation by the Romans. But for the four men it was not business as usual. They may have asked for access and were denied until they decided that extreme situations demanded extreme measures. The ones outside were more hungry for a miracle than the ones inside. The worst conditions were shut out by the ones inside.  In a hospital the worst cases, the babies and the old often jump the queue.

>> The covering. The roof needed to be uncovered. Going by the practice in those days, the house was most probably constructed with a flat roof and a set of stairs on the side of the house to access the roof. The roofing material would include timber, tree branches and thick layer of clay and mud pressed very hard to be rain proof.  Therefore, they had to dig until they made an opening large enough to lower their friend into the house.

>>The consequences. They must have wondered what would happen afterwards.  They dared to do the risky and costly. What if they were arrested? What if their reputation was damaged? Imagine the preaching is on and suddenly the sound of digging is heard on the roof. Before long dry mud and wood begin to fall on the crowd exposing the sky. Then a man is lowered into the room. What did the crowd think? What did Peter think? His house was being damaged before his very eyes. They might have had to pay for the cost of the repairs to Peter’s roof.

>> Barricades inside their own minds and attitudes. They had to overcome doubt and fear. They had to agree and cooperate with one another. They overcame selfishness and personal pride about appearing awkward by doing something unusual. They were willing to think outside the box.

The Response of Jesus

We know how Jesus responded. To Jesus, houses, pigs, sabaths and laws were made for people and not people for them. People were made for God alone. Whatever cannot be sacrificed to save lives is an idol. 

>> He was tender to him.  He saw nothing else but faith and probably smiled. “When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” (Mark 2: 5). Jesus sees faith before anything else. Faith is rejection of sin. That is why it pleases God (Hebrews 11:6).  Faith redefined his relationship.  He addressed him as ‘son’.  You cannot believe so much as to pull down a roof and still hold on to sin. He welcomed him into the family.

Ref to Luke 15 and 2 Samuel 9.

>> He brought attention to the root cause of suffering. He was already preaching the word to them – on faith and repentance. His priority was to communicate the message of the kingdom not just to do miracles. His heart was on solving the basic need.  Many focused on miracles and missed the message. They snatched the bait and survived the hook. The man was brought to Jesus for healing but Jesus dealt with his sins. Jesus’ priority was to deal with sin. He is light that drives away darkness.  The greatest need in life is not a physical need but a spiritual one. Capernaum missed this truth. It was here that he displayed great healing power. It was here that he preached in power. It was here that he made his public claims to be the messiah. Yet later despite all the miracles performed in this city Jesus pronounced a curse upon the city (Luke 10:13-15). They enjoyed the miracles and missed the message.  The message is so important that rather you go to heaven maimed than to die able bodied unsaved. Do not be like the people of Capernaum. Rather you go to hell from anywhere else other than from the pews of a bible believing church.

>> He baffled sceptics and critics (Mark 2: 6-10). He forgave sin. He taught the Pharisees that it was not just about knowing the law but also about life and sound relationship with God. He confronted his critics with truth. They focus on effects or symptoms while he addressed root causes. What you think in your heart can interfere with your prayer and relationship with God.  “some teachers of the law were sitting there thinking to themselves, why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (v. 6 -7).  He had authority on Earth to forgive sins. Jesus healed the man to demonstrate he had power to forgive sin. He used the physical to prove the spiritual. For all the physical benefits from God there are spiritual lessons you cannot afford to miss.

>> He amazed all. He amazed everybody by healing the paralytic. “Insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.” Mark 2:12.  Jesus was associated with amazement not amusement.  He amazed everyone and baffled his critics.  Are you amazed, amused or baffled on your journey with Jesus?  May you never stop to be amazed.

Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.

Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.

Ground and First Floors Sunset Bay Building,

204B Bram Fischer drive,

Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa 

Hanging out with Jesus VI: His Deep Compassion

Hanging out with Jesus VI:  His Deep Compassion

Mark 1:39 – 45

Compassion is the very thing that moved Jesus from heaven. Compassion is what tenderizes hears to be touched by human plights. It kept Jesus on the cross and moved him to the throne. He felt for people enough to touched by them and tirelessly serve them. That motivated his ministry. The high counts of words like immediately, forthwith, straightway and straightly in the book of Mark are testimony of the swiftness with which he responded to needs.  His instant obedience was matched by immediate results.  To be a disciple maker with Jesus one has to have the essential element of compassion for people. Being a disciple is growing in compassion. One has to catch the compassionate heart of God. . It is a divine attribute that rubs on to you when you spend time in God’s presence.

Compassion was the key to his influence. Influence is the key to leading. Compassion generates cooperation. Compassion is concern, kindness, and sympathy that evokes involvement or action. When one who is kind and merciful acts to address the need of concern, compassion is at work. Mercy breads bonding and loyalty. Mercy was a bridge that opened hearts of people to him. Mercy is what transforms us as we follow him. It is the key to lead people out of darkness and make them fervent worshiper, win souls, make disciples, move mountains, create wealth, world changers, build legacy.

Because he was compassionate Jesus:

         Paid attention to the needy. His work is associated with the sick being healed, lepers cleansed, the gospel heard and the down cast uplifted. He had time for the least, lowest, last and lost (Luke 4:18, 1 Corinthians 1:6). We live in a world that has lost its moral compass and the result is much suffering and pain.

         Paid attention to the one. He afforded time for the one within the crowd. His encounters with individuals such as the centurion, and blind Bartimaeus make Jesus reachable to us at a personal level. His care for individuals opened the hearts of crowds. The result was a sweeping awakening as the good news spread like a wild fire.  What we learn is that mercy gives influence. It resulted in an unstoppable momentum evidenced by excitement, energy, drive and impetus. Not driven by one person.

Mark 1:28  And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.

Mark 1:32- 33  And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the door.

Mark 1:45  But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

         Paid attention to the outcasts like the woman with an issue of blood (Mark 5:25) and transformed worst of sinners like the woman who anointed his feet (Luke 7:37). 

         Paid attention to the lowly for a reward in heaven. Most of the people that thronged him were have-nots. His teachings and stories brought hope to the poor. Almost as if he favoured the poor.

         Paid attention to the hard things that stretched him (Mathew 26:39). He was willing to pay the highest price to show compassion. Go went where God instructed and did what God told him to do. He did not seek to do just hat was easy, comfortable or celebrated. That is why he valued personal growth before trying to grow multitudes. As a result he was a climber, upstream swimmer, and a driver not a drifter.

         Paid attention to the few. He selected the twelve disciples who were with him. Through the few he reached not only masses but generations. Through them he  now has millions around him where he used to have five thousand. He is now preaching to billions.

         Jesus was accessible 24/7.   He allowed people to interrupt his rest time (Mark 6:34). The people pushed him to seek places of  rest and pursued him there. He still out of compassion ministered to them. Although He rules the universe we have access to His throne 24/7. He is a King who calls us friends yet is worthy of our eternal worship. All for our welfare, he rules in righteousness and love. He will never falter, never fail, never make a bad decision and never lose a battle.

         Jesus followed the wildernesses in people and on the map.  Chapter 1 ends with message back in wilderness. Earlier a voice was crying in the wilderness. He went to the wilderness and brought the message to the city because he heard the cry in the wilderness in people’s hearts not just the one on the map.  That wilderness is still crying for a voice (Isaiah 35: 1-15)

Three things:  

Mar 1:40 – 41   And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

>>He was willing. What he has promised indicates his will. You ONLY come in humility and faith like this man did.  The leper was so happy he made it the only obstacle he thought was his willingness.  Like the lame brought through the roof… he doesn’t lecture them about respect for property and dignified behavior.  Jesus did not ask … how did you manage to come near us with your leprosy? During recent Xenophia attacks in South Africa, the Minister of Home Affairs  said, ‘we are not worried about whether the people have papers or not but to make sure lives are safe.’

>> He  touched a leper.  Moved with compassion he was touched by his need and plea so much that he touched him. He touched him even though he was unclean, and untouchable. Touching is identifying with. When people brought sacrifices for their sins the person touched the animal to set it aside as his/her representative. When he touched the leper he identified with him.

>> He cleansed him. He brought transformation to his life. His condition had been worse than that of the sick. He needed not just healing but cleansing. Always he would warn people  by shouting ‘unclean’. But now he was no longer an outcast. He was no longer unclean. He was  integrated back into society. It is possible to  be healed but carry a stigma. He was cleansed of the stigma. Mercy is considerate. He told him go and get checked and get professional certification as a testimony (Mark 1:44).

Mark 1:39  And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.

Mark 1:42 - 44  And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 

Each time he told them not to publish what God had done for them, the more they published. You almost want to remind him not to bother stopping them. Why would he give such a futile instruction? The only reason was for us to know that when God does wonders in people’s lives they just cannot stop shouting about it. Not even when he charges them not to.

Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.

Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.

Ground and First Floors Sunset Bay Building,

204B Bram Fischer drive,

Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa 

Hanging out with Jesus V: His Powerful Secret

Hanging out with Jesus V: His Powerful Secret

Mark 1:35 – 38

We live in a culture that talks a lot about prayer. We have numerous books on prayer and run countless seminars on prayer. What we have not done is to pray. Jesus said that His house is to be a house of prayer. He did not say it was to be a house of preaching, healing, accumulating material things, etc only.   He did not even ask us to understand prayer but to watch and pray. What we do not need is human effort, louder volume, added programs, symbols, theatrics and gimmicks but … prayer. If we practice prayer and live connected with God, then the things we do take the nature and power of God.

You cannot win by doing nothing or doing anything else other than pray. When you pray you gain assurance and awareness that God is leading and his goodness and mercy are following behind. Prayer is the key to full spectrum dominance for his eyes are on you all the day and all the time (365/24/7 surveillance). The more you love him the more you want time with him and want what he wants. The more you know him by revelation and catch his vision. 

Jesus was prayerful. He  operated with a priestly and prophetic anointing.  He integrated the priestly, prophetic and the kingly ministries. The kingly authority depends on both the priestly and prophetic power. In the old Testament, Kings of Israel relied on the priests and prophets for the maintenance of spiritual matters and for the word of the Lord to confirm their authority and direct their leadership. Prophets brought the mind and word of the Lord to the people. The prophets relied on the priests to maintain a relationship with God where they could hear the word of the Lord for themselves and for the people.As prophet,  Jesus reveals God to us like no one else can.   He is the Word which came down from heaven.

The priests kept the fire of worship burning. The priests entered the Holy place and the Holy of Holies in worship and intercession. They kept God at the center of the nation. As Priest, Jesus was touched with the feelings of and infirmities of people. He has entered heaven with His own precious blood and is now seated at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. As priest, Jesus maintained an active personal altar or fervent personal devotional life where he offered sacrifices of dedication, thanksgiving and praise as a priest. At the altar where he met with the father in prayer, he also as a prophet enquired of him for direction and his mind on issues he was facing. 

The grace of God through Christ has made us kings and priests unto God (Revelation 1:6).  We need to serve as priests to rule as kings.  Christ is the best role model on prayer. Whatever Christ expects he has modeled and is enabling in your life. He was Spirit led. Spirit led integrates the priestly, prophetic and kingly dimensions of faith. What you give to God is priestly and what God gives is kingly and prophetic. Trusting God is priestly and the result is kingly power. Faith is priestly and grace is kingly. Enquiry is prophetic and obedience is kingly.

In Mark 1:35 – 38 after a hectic ministry program at the end of the day he would have been exhausted. But early in the morning, he rose up and went to a solitary place, and took time to pray. Prayer is spending time with God in conversations that maintain your relationship with him. It is a product of a ceaseless heart attitude of dependence, love and faith in God. It is acknowledging God in one’s life (Proverbs 3:5, 6). It is dependence on God. It is a sign of great faith. When you have so much faith that you pray less and less, you are in deception that your faith is more than that of Christ. Yet we know he modeled the highest level of faith and that made him pray more and more.  He had so much faith that he prayed.  Often we are so busy we have no time for dedicated prayer time. But for Jesus the busier he was the more he needed the Father and the more he prayed.   Some lessons from the prayer example in Mark 1:35

         He rose up early in the morning. He put first things first. To him prayer time was a priority and a precedence.  It was a serious matter. It was so important that it came first. He believed personal growth is vital before trying to grow multitudes. Priestly faithfulness was the key to his kingly success. That sleep and exhaustion could not keep him from prayer time. He just did it without asking for people’s thoughts. Peter would have rather have them go and minister to the crowds that were waiting. Even though he was God and man, he modeled for us how we should also depend and call on the Lord. He knew the transcending power of prayer. Prayer is the only way to go above all obstacles in your way.  Prayer is the only way to know the power of God in your life. Jesus confronted life challenges with prayer. Jesus was a true descendent of David. David ruled and had a life full of grace through building altars to God and consulting him, praising, writing psalms and trusting in him.  He never trembled before his enemies. Saul on the other hand trusted in his own strength and even built a monument unto himself and as a result, he trembled before his enemies such as Goliath, He panicked before them and resorted to short cuts.

         It was a while before day. He had to overcome excuses why not to have prayer time. Instead of asking can I afford prayer time, ask can I afford not to have prayer time. The issue was not prayerfulness or praying, for praying is something that ought to be done without ceasing. The fight is for prayer time. Time dedicated to God. His excuses could have included the risks of being out alone at night, depriving himself of the personal convenience and comfort of sleep.   In addition, he could have argued that he had a busy teaching and healing program. He however believed prayer time was transformation time. Prayer time was crucial recharge time. Prayer is strategy download time.

         He spent dedicated alone time with God. He left the crowd. He went away, apart from business, people and distractions. He went out to a place where he could be alone with the Father. He set aside uninterrupted time to fellowship and consult with the Father. He made himself unavailable to the world and demands around him. You also need times when you are unavailable because you are busy with God. The disciples had to look for him. They said to him, all men seek for you.

         He had the discipline to do it. Discipline is doing what is right and has to be done whether you feel like it or not. It is overcoming laziness and procrastination. It is ‘removing’ the snooze feature from your alarm.  It is following through things you start to a successful finish. He was disciplined to manage his time in a way that ensured he allocated time to what was important. He knew that sleeping is not the only way to rejuvenate yourself. Spending time in God’s presence is more rejuvenating.

         He used the time to pray. With the help of the Holy Spirit, he used it to talk and listen. Prayer is a dialogue. He consulted, gave thanks, he worshipped, and heard from God. He meditated on God’s word and promises. He prepared for his next assignments by prayer. He prayed for souls. He prayed the model prayer (Mathew 6:19). May God receive something straight from the oven of your heart, for mercies from his heart are new every morning? Give him new praises every morning and receive fresh grace every day. Pray for the peace of the land where you find yourself. It's prosperity is your prosperity. Prayer is an opportunity to receive mercy, righteousness, grace, peace, and joy.

The result of prayer

And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth [product of enquiry]. 

The result of effective prayer is peace or an instruction/rhema word.  Prayer gives the awareness that God is in control and therefore it is well. Prayer also gives the wisdom and awareness of the next steps to take. Prayer is receiving a work plan from God. When Peter eventually found Jesus, he was quick to point out that everyone was looking for him. They needed to continue with the work of healing the sick and casting out demons where they were the previous day. Jesus was peaceful about the situation he had an instruction about he next step to go to the next towns.

Stillness precedes a rhema word. A rhema word precedes power. Power precedes victory. Victory precedes progress - promotion, prosperity, protection, provision, production/fruit. When you pray, more than saying things desire the word of the Lord.  It brings all you need. God gives you the word for all the things you need. When you take your place of worship, you will hear his voice. When you hear his voice, you will receive his grace. His voice carries his grace and is for a place. When you receive grace, you will enjoy peace.

Prayer pleases God. And when God is pleased, people are amazed.  The next lesson has more on this.

Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.

Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.

Ground and First Floors Sunset Bay Building,

204B Bram Fischer drive,

Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa 

Hanging out with Jesus IV: His Kingly Authority

Hanging out with Jesus IV: Kingly Authority

Mark 1: 16 - 34

The book of Mark tells how Jesus was prepared for his public ministry for thirty years.   When he was ready he moved into action by preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God.  The time, the kingdom and response were issues that mattered most in his ministry. Readiness and timeliness are crucial on God’s program of spiritual development.  He began public ministry after John was arrested (v14a). When Jesus was ready, time was ripe for John to go.  John had to complete his ministry of paving the way by baptizing Jesus. He had declared ‘I should decrease and he increases.’  The departure of John meant the rise if Christ.  Whose experience and life lessons are you learning from.   Who is your fore runner and mentor.  Fore runners and disciplers like scaffolds need to get out of the way at some point for  the disciples to flourish. Trees can not grow under a bush. A discipler plays John’s role  in presenting Jesus to people and make way for him and Jesus role to raise the people for their ministry and make way for them to be what God designed for their lives. 

When Jesus was ready, he moved into action.  Because he was ready he only needed three years to complete his task. God starts in order to guarantee the finish – the alpha and omega. Rome may not have been built in a day but  with God a nation can be built in a day. It always takes longer to prepare a person for great works. Preparation time is the foundation one lays in their character. But he took long so that the disciples could ride on what he had already done and they did not have to wait thirty years. He has become the foundation that is already laid out.

From preparation Jesus moved in his purpose. His purpose was a promise for humanity. Your purpose fulfills a promise to someone. When preparation is over embrace the purpose and become the promise fulfiller to others. Something good happened for those who hung around him with faith.  He comes with you where ever you are. Something wonderful is about to happen when you hang around Jesus and build your life around him. By just being there and abiding in him you have fulfilled the necessary conditions for your  miracle and destiny.

Jesus moved into action after the prophetic word  had gone before him, the written word was rich in his heart and the rhema word was received from above.  He received the fullness and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit follows the obeyed word.  Word plus obedience releases grace of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit works through obedience. He needs the word and your obedience to act on and act  with.  Jesus obeyed the instruction to be  baptized.  He obeyed the Holy Spirit into the wilderness.  He moved into action after he passed tests in the wilderness.  He commenced his ministry with demonstration of amazing authority. Kings must have authority to exercise power and rule. He was a king with kingly anointing.    The following are the foundational dimensions of authority in Jesus’ ministry and discipleship.

1) Authority to mobilize

The book of Mark is not just about the teaching and ministry of Jesus but also about the learning experience of his disciples who sat at his feet for three years.

Mar 1:16- 20 Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

Jesus was clear about his mission. Without a clear mission you cannot mobilize. His mission was to fish man from sin.  Jesus’ first priority was to proclaim the gospel. His second was to form a team for the task. He mobilized companions and protégés in this mission. Kings are people with  domains that they rule through teams.  Jesus ruled through disciple making teams. Authority can be shared or abused. He shared his authority by including and empowering people. Authority is abused when used to exclude, exploit and dominate others. Always remember that for any mission from God there is a team. The challenge is to find it. Discover the team for the task. Approach the team and invite them.  Authority to mobilize disciples to carry out responsibility and execute tasks is kingly authority. The quality of the team is the quality of the kingship. Discipleship is a kingly function. It is about forming a team with which to work and through whom to work and connect with a next generation.

Kingly authority begins with forming a team or mobilizing a labor force. He called people who were already busy doing something. Its easier to turn a moving vehicle that a stationery one.  The four initial people he called as recorded by Mark were fisher man.  He promised to them that he would not  discard their trade. Instead if they followed him, he would redeem and redirect that their  passion and personalities towards a higher purpose.  He approached people who were available. They immediately left their nets to follow him.  Ability would follow availability and a heart to follow. A commitment to be with him and to let him make able fisherman in a higher calling.  For some you leave your nets for others you use your nets for the same purpose to share the gospel.

Discipleship is not for lone rangers. Jesus was not a lone super ranger.   In mobilizing his team, Jesus would have asked questions such as  who do I work with, who will hold me accountable, who do I pass this work to, and  who do I help to do what I do.  He was a networked person and a great team player.  His team bore testimony of his work and character.  All we know of him is testimony of his team.  We know he was righteous because of what they wrote and how non of them offered witness to aggravate his case during trial.  Also all of them believed what he taught and died for so much that they were willing to die for his message. He recognized that sustainability requires a next generation.  He prepared them so well that at the end he could say ‘It is good for me to go.’ He was so confident that he declared they would do greater works than he did.

2) Authority in Speech

Jesus declared the word of the Lord with power and conviction. He had grace for utterance.  When he and his team went to Capernaum they taught in the synagogue. They started by sharing the gospel with people who had an openness to discussion about God.  People already reading the Bible but perhaps upside down.  People with unanswered quaestions about their faith.  He spoke to them in a way that was different from what they were used to.  He was Spirit led and untraditional. 

Mar 1:21 - 25  he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.

He had command and was compelling.  He was fearless about speaking the gospel. He spoke with such faith and conviction that they marveled. He spoke from the heart  not just what read or memorized but what's in heart. He was prophetically  about his mission (Luke 4:18) when nothing had yet happened to show.      He was unapologetic but  full of positive expectation and boldness about the effectiveness of the word of God.   Because he spoke with conviction his words produced conviction in the hearers. Because he spoke from the heart his word reached the hearts of the people. Unlike the others who spoke  from head to head.

3) Authority over enemies of  the kingdom

The kingdom of God is peace and joy, and righteousness in the Holy Spirit. It is the realm of human wellness. Jesus declared war on the causes of human suffering. He came to bring solution to human needs and suffering. He employed his authority and power to meet needs. He declared war with things that bother us – the  joy stealers and peace destroyers.

>>> Over evil spirits.

He amazed the people and embarrassed the leaders in the synagogue who were worshiping with a demon possessed person by casting out the evil spirit and setting the person free.  The demons knew who he was and trembled. They heard his command to go and obeyed.

Mark 1: 25 Hold thy peace, and come out of him.   

The obstacles we face are sin, doubt and spiritual barriers. The cure for sin is repentance. The cure for doubt is to believe. The way to deal with evil spirits is to stop them. They wait for a command or an order otherwise they remain and want to negotiate a truce.  ‘And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit ; and he cried out ,   Saying , Let us alone ; what have we to do with thee , thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us ? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.   And Jesus rebuked him …”   Jesus also had control over evil spirits. He sets the boundaries. For example he would not allow them to do what they wanted even talking.

>>> Over sickness

Mar 1:29  And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. 

Mar 1:34  And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

From the synagogue Jesus went to Peter’s house where Peter’s mother in law  lay sick of a fever. He exercised his authority to heal the sick.  When she was healed she ministered to them. What ministry are we being deprived of because of  ministers who are incapacitated by sickness.  Jesus is on the mission to  release their ministries for the benefit of all. As disciples of Jesus grab opportunities to heal the sick. The audience of Jesus caught the lesson that Jesus was the healer and deliverer from evil spirits. They brought unto him all that were diseased , and them that were possessed with devils .  

>>> Over nature

He also performed signs and wonders such as walking on water, calming  storms changing  water  to wine and raising the dead.   The last Adam was in action.

Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.

Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.

Ground and First Floors Sunset Bay Building,

204B Bram Fischer drive,

Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa