I DON'T BUY THAT RUBBISH!

 

Jesus was getting ready to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem and because the disciples wanted to help with the preparation, they asked Him, “Where will you have us go?” (Mark 14:12).

Sound like a familiar request? At some time everyone who is serious about following Jesus asks Him, “What would You like me to do? How can I be of service to You and Your Kingdom?”

Jesus responded to the disciples, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him” (Mark 14:13, NKJV). Rather unusual directions!

The disciples went into the city and saw the man with the jar of water and followed him to where he entered a house. Heeding the instructions of the Lord, the disciples followed the man into the house where he showed them a large upper room “furnished and prepared” (see Mark 14:15-16).

At first Jesus’ directions don’t seem to make a lot of sense but they will. Our primary responsibility is to hear the voice of the Lord, be obedient, and follow one step at a time whether we fully understand or not.

When the Lord gives directions and we follow them, we can be assured that there is a place already prepared for us to do His service. He will have a way to lead us to that part of the vineyard where He knows we can be useful.

"The disciples . . . went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them" (Mark 14:16, NIV).

As I read this passage a few days ago and thought about the uniqueness of how Jesus instructed His disciples, I decided to see what one of my favorite writers and commentators had to say. I was stunned to read his explanation of the Lord’s instructions. He asserted that the Lord was able to give these instructions because He had made a secret, unrecorded trip to Jerusalem months earlier and set things up with the water jar carrier and the owner of the house.

I sat bewildered for a couple of moments looking at the commentator’s writings on this passage and then I had a deeply spiritual thought I can sum up in one word: “Rubbish!”

I was disappointed in this commentator because of what appears to be his desire to minimize or eradicate any element of the supernatural in the leading and direction of God for His people. He obviously wanted to “explain” how this event took place and take away any thought that God would supernaturally lead His people. Apparently, in his thinking, we just don’t need that anymore, and that generated my deeply spiritual response. 

This kind of thinking tends to come from those who have buried the gifts and operation of the Holy Spirit and most everything supernatural in a casket somewhere near the end of the Apostolic Age. This is the thinking of those who are afraid of anything that looks as though it might encourage Christ-followers to think that God still moves in supernatural ways on behalf of or among His people. This group seems to want to minimize the value and importance of the Holy Spirit. This kind of thinking leads to cessationism and the blindness that it brings. 

I still have great admiration for the commentator and will continue to refer to his writings but I am disappointed in his attempt to discount anything supernatural.

God does supernatural things today! He still heals people and still works miracles. God still guides people supernaturally and the Holy Spirit still empowers us for life and ministry.

In his excellent book “The Kingdom Triangle,” J. P. Moreland speaks very clearly to the church about the importance of understanding the supernatural elements of the Kingdom of God. Moreland is a Christian philosopher, theologian and former pastor. He is also a former cessastionist who has cautiously moved away from that position into an understanding of the Holy Spirit’s work in the present age. “The Kingdom Triangle” is one of the few books that I will ever recommend to you in this blog.

In his book Moreland issues a call to recapture the drama and power of Kingdom of God living. He provides a penetrating critique of current worldviews and shows how they have ushered in a crisis in society. He lays out a strategy for the Christian community to regain the potency of Kingdom life. Drawing insights from the early church, Moreland outlines three essential ingredients for this revolution: Recovery of the Christian mind; Renovation of Christian spirituality; and Restoration of the power of the Holy Spirit. The latter chapters on the power of the Holy Spirit are just incredibly good. 

I have watched the Lord do supernatural things for my whole life as a follower of Him. I watched as the Lord opened the eyes of a man born blind as we were sharing the gospel with him. The Lord sovereignly healed the man, as nothing had been said about healing or the miraculous. I am not sure who was more surprised, the man or us! The power (dunamis) of the gospel (Romans 1:16) is so much more than our feeble minds can conceive!

Does God still speak to us? Does He sometimes lead us in ways that stagger our understanding? Does God still do the miraculous and are you open to His supernatural interventions? You must answer those questions for yourself!