Jesus Disciples: The Criticized Misfits!

Jesus Disciples: The Criticized Misfits!                                    Kelly Durant 4-27-25

Luke 5:27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.29 Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. 30 And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”31 Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

2. How many of you have had or have unusual friends? People whom are not usually liked? Let’s do a test right now and raise your hands, how many of you have ever befriended (though Jesus with no bad intentions) a prostitute?  Or a drug addict or alcoholic?  Or a Hedonistic partier? Or an extremely poor person living in a very poor house or homeless? What about vulgar people, ex-cons, and misfits? 

Well, these are just a few of the extreme types I have befriended in my life! That is the beauty of Jesus, you and I are able to mingle and converse with all kinds of people and by friendship lead them to grow spiritually and live a better life once they are saved!  

Here is my unusual circumstance; I have been friends most of my adult life with people who do not even speak English but rather Spanish, Portuguese, or sign language! I have had several friends dying of cancer, friends with artificial limbs, mentally challenged friends, friends who had no friends at all; plus thousands have been immigrant strangers living outside their country of origin. I have ministered to people in the markets in Bolivia who made less than $10 a day, and then in the afternoon walked into million dollar mansions of rich factory owners to tutor their children. Through the years I have had opportunity to spend hours in the homes of professional musicians, converse in parties with governors, senators, and mayors, and experience friendships with an extreme mix of cultural, racial, and social status backgrounds. How is this possible? Because Jesus led me into it for His mission! I just pray to adapt and relate! I thank God all the time for the wealth I have, and have had, in friendships of all kinds!  

3. Here is the circumstance: many people forget that Christian Churches, especially the Salvation Army ones, are places where all the misfits and sinners are welcomed without question. William Booth our Founder said, “Go for souls, and go for the worst!” And I have tried my best to do that, but I know not everyone accepts that, nor does that their selves, but that is the mission! It should be the mission of everyone who is saved, we are saved to serve.

I recall in one Corps I attended that there were just a few families that came for years and the Corps Officers were trying to recruit new people. It turned out that over time a new homeless shelter was opened up and all the folks from there started coming in. I was happy to see that, but not all of them there were! It turned out many of them smoked and right after service there would be half a dozen people smoking right in front of the Corps and many were very unhappy and gave them ugly looks! The unwelcomed looks, were harmful!

As you can imagine many complained that we cannot have smokers around like that, others said nothing hoping it would go away, and I looked upon it as just one of those challenges we face when we include new people with the love of Christ!  The contradictory thing is that I, along with some others there, had even smoked in our ancient past, so we were no one to throw stones. Some people stopped coming due to the ugly vibes and in transition people were constantly moving on, but I never will forget that some long time Christians did have a problem accepting new people which were not up to their expected standard. We must all remember from whence we came as David, Psalm 40:2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.

4. I’ll share with you this, I have a problem with modern day churches that do not include others, be they misfits, immigrants, or the poor. When we were Cadets everyone in the school went to visit a few mega-churches in Atlanta as a group (an experience for writing a lesson) and we got to ask questions to some of the leaders there so we could redact what we observed.

My wife asked one of them, “In your area here 1 in every 3 people are Hispanic, what services do you offer them?” Do you know what the response was? The reply was that their church was focused only on the baby-boomer audience (the middle aged white class with money) and that they did not see a need to reach out to the Hispanics as that was not in their mission objectives?! Their mission did not include helping the poor either, and their church was very rich.

It is sad but there is discrimination in the church today and some of it comes from the majorities, and some of it comes from the minorities as well. That’s why I had been studying the 7 churches in Revelation with you, the church today is no better off today than what they were in their beginnings; the people still are committing mistakes that they are blind to. Those that know me know that no one can ever accuse me of not trying to mix all kinds of people together for the greater good of God’s kingdom! But I am embarrassed by some other Christian denominations that are either too closed minded, or too open minded as they are accepting certain sins as just part of the trends we need to accommodate. Not all mixing is correct to do.

5. So what about Jesus and his motley crew of sinners? The verses of today in Luke 5:27 reveal that people were very offended that he partied with the tax collectors and sinners.  Jesus put the self-righteous ones in their place and stopped their negative judgement by letting them know He was there for the sinners, that sinners are people who are hurting and needed healing. He was not going down to their level but rather bringing them up to His.

Jesus is the great physician, and thank God Jesus does heal all kinds of people, even the worst of sinners such as the thieves and prostitutes.  We see that God and Jesus gives people second and third chances but we as humans are not so holy in this regard. It is natural that when someone has taken advantage of you or me (such as a tax collector, customs official, or a dishonest repair shopman) that we are not so forgiving. We want restitution and justice!

It is hard, it hurts, but you and I have to let grudges go. If we see God is doing a work in someone’s life, no matter how low our concept of that person, we must conform to the fact that God is doing the work we cannot do and just get out of the way and let Him work.

6. We can allow certain heathen, pagans or sinners practicing sin, in our midst for a time to see if they are people searching for God’s truth for a new start, or see if they are just people hanging around because they like our kindness towards them. Anyone who comes to Jesus must start showing fruits of repentance, or if not, that person is just playing with God and everyone else, and that is unacceptable. 

From this verse we learn we are to show tolerance and patience, so that they might learn God’s truth and gain salvation. 2 Timothy 2:25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,

On the flip side, those who remain unrepentant, in other words they show no progress of improvement in behavior, character, or deeds of kindness and no increased love for Jesus, if they prove that they have their own ideas and opinions and they are not willing to allow their total transformation of heart and mind through the Holy Spirit, then there comes a time we must show them the door.

7. Here, in these verses below, are some harsh words for those who want to hang with us but their motives are to remain being their same old sinful self.  

2 Peter 2:12 But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, 13 and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, 14 having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children.

There comes a moment in time when we all must evaluate if a person is in Christ, or in their own rebellion. But I have even more to say about this.

8. I have known people that have been in our alcohol and drug rehab programs that have pretended to be good for a while, but then leaving they to go back to their old sins again but wait to hear the full story. You know how the word describes this?  We are in 2 Peter still. 2 Peter 2:22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

But despite the ugliness, foul smell, and repugnance we get from seeing people go back to their horrible sins destroying them and others around them, we still must have a certain level of patience. 

So here is where I was going, some people have been in and out of our rehab programs lasting 6 months up to three times and then finally after the third time get a breakthrough and then remain clean 10 or 20 years (or the rest of their lives) ever since. 

9. So be open to mix with all kinds having the vision that one day they might accept Jesus and start a new life, living in purity and holiness as you did.  People can be drinking, smoking, and cursing around you and you are just letting it ride because in the end you are not going down to their level, you are on a higher level on the Rock, Jesus, that cannot be moved. 

Most people resist change, and if any church or Corps is going to grow, they must be willing to take in new people that are like new born children.  And babies grow to be toddlers who fall down and wreck the house, they spill food all over the furniture, and they scream when they don’t like something, but we still help them along to grow into adults. 

So be mature in your inclusive love!  Some things like your race, social status, and character you and I are just born with! But a positive change in Jesus can occur when a person realizes that the standard the of the world, of doing all of what your partying friends are doing,  is not the standard of Jesus. When Jesus (Jesus in you!) is in the house (or party) then those who realize their lives are a big mess and need Him get awestruck by His transforming words and love. How well do you represent Jesus to others? And representing Him to others you may not even like?  

 

Easter: The Uncomfortable Reality!

 

Easter: The Uncomfortable Reality!           By Kelly Durant     4-20-25

 

Mark 16: 14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

 

2. How many of you have seen the classic movie “Risen”? I thought it was extremely well portrayed with much detail as it was in Jesus’ day. It was about the story of the resurrection from the point of view of a Roman Soldier that was sent to investigate what happened at the tomb. Try to rent it or see it, it is well worth it! 

 

My favorite part was when the Roman Soldier found the ropes that sealed the rock frayed from being burst open. This Roman knew what a cut rope would look like, but ropes burst apart? I am sure many people in Jerusalem experienced revelations that caused them to believe in the resurrection as in the story of this soldier! 

The truth is no one will respect or follow a leader once they are dead if they were an oppressor, liar, or a con. However, Jesus’ teachings still rule over thousands of millions even today because He was pure love and truth! 

 

When an evil person dies, as in the case of King Herod, the whole town celebrated! When Jesus died, many mourned but few, we observe by scripture, really expected Him to rise up out of the tomb. The first Easter, His resurrection, transformed humanity into a celebrated victory over death! But the first Easter did not exactly start out as a celebrated moment though.

 

3. Let’s go more into depth of the verses today. It says in Mark, “He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen”. I don’t know how you feel after getting rebuked for doing something wrong, but personally I feel embarrassed and humiliated! I would not feel too festive and happy. We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection today but the first encounter with Him made everyone feel afraid and ashamed of themselves.

 

Imagine witnessing a person die in such a horrific manner as Jesus did, and fearing the Sanhedrin might come to arrest and kill you now, but then you see the crucified Son of Man walking around with holes in their hands and feet, I think it would make any one of us so scared we would faint. It is like when you see a ghost, you feel mortified because you know it is a creature with supernatural power. Jesus showing himself to be supernaturally alive contradicted what is understood concerning reality, logic, and the physically possible!

 

So, to prove it is Himself, Jesus appears out of nowhere to sit down at the table with them to talk. In another instance, He also ate fish with them on the beach. He took time with them but despite being undeniably in this world, they doubted in the beginning. Jesus does not like to see people afraid and doubtful and many times he repeated to all who saw Him the word, ‘peace’! For the doubters and unrepentant Jesus’ presence brings fear, but for those who love Him His presence brings peace! John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”. 

 

4. To illustrate it was not such a celebrative moment at first, recall that the disciples when they first saw Jesus, they were full of fear. Jesus had told them all several times that He would be killed and then come back, but it almost seems as if none of them really believed Him. Mark 8:31 “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again”.

 

Imagine seeing all the miracles the disciples had seen and then still not believing that He had resurrected! Remember these are dedicated followers that had given up everything to follow Jesus, they had no hopes to go back to their old life, and they saw dozens and dozens of miracles and yet they still doubted?!

 

It just goes to show how we cannot depend on all those who say they have experienced Jesus’ power to remain totally faithful and doubtless through every moment of their lives. Even the most dedicated have their weak moments but the comfort is that Jesus will still love you and receive you even though He may have to rebuke you and correct your lack of faith.

 

5. So, take it to heart, if Jesus rebuked the disciples who were in it all the way until their own martyrdom, how much more you and I should expect to get rebuked by Jesus for our lack of faith, unbelief, and obedience! John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.

 

Our world today is the same as it was in Jesus’ time, there is a vast majority that will not even believe though there is proof that one was raised from the dead. And then there is also a large group that will not believe because they have not personally seen it. Both are hopeless doubters choosing death over life because they love darkness rather than light.

So, what are we left to work with? 

 

Christians or believers that believe… but have doubts! But the hope is they will come around to have real faith and trust and obedience to what Jesus taught because the Holy Spirit will convict them.

 

6.  Easter then, in many ways, is an uncomfortable rebuke to the world! It is a mortal blow to Satan and his followers who can no longer reap dead men’s souls when those souls have been cleansed in the redeeming blood of Jesus. Jesus’ resurrection stripped away Satan’s power of maintaining a death over humans; that is if that person is repentant, believes, and obeys Jesus. 

 

Easter, being a supernatural event, puts to the test every human mind and heart. A test usually provokes fear but after passing it, relief and peace come. It is amazing to me how many people in this life chose foolishly what they will believe in, thinking they will never answer for their actions. Read the Proverbs, they teach much about fools who refuse to fear and honor God, and their own destruction comes by their own choices. 

Easter is a reminder that Jesus rebuked the doubting followers! 

 

Year after year during these special moments of celebration we must face the fact that some of our Christian brothers are not living pure repented lives displaying that they truly fear God, believe His word, and obey. Once you realize Jesus is alive and present in the here and now through the Holy Spirit speaking in your mind, it will make you be afraid as the 11 disciples at first were!

 

7. The most foolish thing one can do in life is to doubt something that gives you a win win situation such as is the case in believing in the resurrection of Jesus. If you and I simply accept and believe, then we can be sure that we are saved by faith: saved meaning saved from the judgement for the wrongs we have done and also saved from a second death (spiritual one) and be resurrected. Romans 10: 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

 

What have you got to lose by proclaiming Jesus as risen except losing a dozen worthless prideful friends who are materialistic atheistic self-lovers? Start talking about Jesus to everyone you know for a week and see how many still keep you as a friend! They will be a good friend indeed if they are brave enough to allow your light of Jesus to shine in their darkened heart. I lost a few dozen so called friends at age 21 when I got on fire for God, yet I have gained thousands of trustworthy loving Christian friends in dozens of cities in return! You here are my friends that I never would have met if I had not taken the path of proclaiming Jesus risen!

 

The resurrection is real as 2 billion Christians proclaim today! However, if one were to entertain an idea that it were not real, we would be as Paul states in I Cor 15: 16 “For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” But I KNOW we will not be disappointed! He will make us rise up as He did!

 

8. You and I have full trust that these ancient records in the Bible are truth and come from God’s anointed; that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and all the 11, plus the hundreds of other men and women, had a supernatural experience witnessing Jesus’ presence in His resurrected body. This is an experience you and I have not personally had but choosing to believe their story will unexplainably fill your spirit full of hope, peace, and a sense of eternity. When you believe, you inherently know it is truth and you will even die for it!

 

I also trust the testimonies of the millions of Christians that have lived before me sincerely having convictions of the truth of Jesus resurrection. If His resurrection was not something real, then what miserable lives Christians have lived being tortured, martyred, and humiliated by most every evil government that has ever existed! And remember how Jesus even showed himself to doubting Thomas.\

 

Here is a personal belief, I think that people who ask God if Jesus is really who He says He is or not, that God reveals His truth to them. Jesus in a dream revealed to me I had a mission to stop being who I was and to go into the world and save souls. And I obeyed the call! I have been reading testimonies from Christian news sources that many Muslims are getting revelations that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is here, now awakening!

 

9. Now back to our verses of today. Did you catch how Jesus rebuked the 11 for not believing (vs14) “those who had seen Him after He had risen”. Who is He referring to? That was Mary & partners! Jesus showed his resurrected body first to her. What does that mean? It means He trusted her to be the witness to all the others and it seems they thought that she was just a woman being emotional and delusional.  

 

So, Mary was in essence being praised while they were being rebuked. The pride of man is an evil thing. Then the next uncomfortable part is vs 15. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature”. This verse, in my opinion, has been one of the least obeyed verses in the Bible. Very few Christians, dedicate their lives to travel in all the world just to preach Jesus. Thank God every first disciple obeyed! Soon afterwards every believer obeyed and went out preaching Jesus after gaining power from the Holy Ghost as we read in Acts 1. 

 

Conclusively then, doubting the resurrection and not recognizing the first Easter as a reality will get you a rebuke from Jesus! Not listening to those who make you uncomfortable with the good news will get you a rebuke from Jesus. But being spiritually uncomfortable is the way God gets you and me to move out into action! Conviction is what changes you and me!

 

10. And the final inconvenient uncomfortable reality is vs.16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” How clear is that? If you believe that Jesus lives, you will live as well! If not you will be condemned to let nature’s death taking its course; it’s as simple as that. 

 

And the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a must! John states in Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 

Do you feel uncomfortable at Easter? Let Jesus peace come in!

The fire of God is what purifies our hearts and minds of all sin. It brings on the full repentance bringing us into holiness, obedience, and most importantly, living our lives motivated by God’s love! The Salvation Army’s mission statement makes it clear; we are “motivated by the love of God!” 

 

Today, if believing that Jesus is as alive as He was over 2,000 years ago has not penetrated your doubtful heart, come and pray to accept Him in your heart and then Romans 10:9-10 will be a reality for you. You will be saved and resurrected when He returns. John 6:40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” Pray!

Jesus: Praised by People and by Rocks

Jesus: Praised by People and by Rocks                 Re: 4-13-25   by Kelly Durant

 

Luke 19:36 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;

38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.

40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

 

2. How many of you have ever heard a strange sound and you can’t tell what it is or where it’s coming from? I recall one time I was in an English class in Santiago, Chile, in the Mercurio Newspaper where I had a student and there was a strange loud whistling sound outside the building. I asked the people in the office what that strange sound was that sounded like an alien invasion with a mystical musical tone. They said that that was a beggar below playing a saw (like for cutting wood)! He played for money, but he had talent enough to produce a song for a Star Trek movie! I later went down to see him, what skill he had!

 

Have you ever noticed some people like music loud and others hate it that way? It depends on the music right? If it is a famous and magical song then loud is just fine, but if it is some mechanical machine sound with talentless verbally slurred words it is an irritation, agreed? A river flowing over stones is a southing sound, agreed? 

 

Now, have you ever noticed that the worship of God always involves sound or music, no matter the culture? Muslims pray with their loudspeakers blasting at certain hours in all their cities repeating a prayer. Hindus repeat the ‘Omm’ sound until the vibrations induce an altered state, and Christians usually shout out, ‘Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, Glory to God!’  All of these involve the human voice, and praise with music added will often be very moving. God created us to crave sound! All of nature is producing vibrations and sound!

 

3. Our ears are amazing! God created them to absorb Him and his good vibrations of creation, and His Word came before all things! John 1 ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’. Then came His light. So, his spoken wisdom in word went out when light was created, how amazing all of John 1 is!

 

Romans 10:17 ‘So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God’. We hear sounds and words all day long, but only by hearing God’s word do we reach a point of understanding His love, depth, and wisdom and get a connection with Him.

 

So, what could Jesus have meant by saying the rocks would cry out in praise to Him if the people were to shut up? This statement, like so many that Jesus made, seems to echo the message in other verses. Like when Jesus explained that God would raise up followers and if it none came from the people, that He would even raise up stones. Matthew 3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.   

 

4. We are celebrating Palm Sunday today, glory to God in the highest! All around Jerusalem where Jesus was entering in were rocks and stones. Israel is mostly desert with stones everywhere!  I once wrote a 5 page report paper on how the stones speak to us concerning all the history that occurred around Jerusalem.

 

You and I are aware that in the Old Testament altars were made of stone to support the sacrifices of the lambs and animals. When one looks at 3,000-year-old round stone altars that the Philistines and other heathen cultures made in Israel, I could almost hear the screams of the children crying out that had died as human sacrifices with their blood dripping over these cold hard stone platforms. Rocks and stones can tell a story and they may even supernaturally speak to you and me if God wants them to!

 

Isn’t it interesting that God told Moses while in the desert with the children of Israel to speak to the rock to get out the water? All of God’s nature is under His control and knowing that man was made from clay (being rock in a soft state), it is not so far-fetched to believe that God could raise up praise and His people from the stones.  

 

5. The palm branches (used to show peace and praise) and the shouts praising Jesus while entering Jerusalem were what God desired, as they witnessed to the whole city and the world that Jesus was the Messiah, the awaited chosen one, and the Savior of the world! Blessed are those that praised Him then and us who praise Him now! We did not see Him in person as they did, but we do sense His presence in our lives!

 

Imagine Jesus was defying the so-called spiritual authorities of His day telling Him and everyone to shut up from their praises and He threatened them with having the rocks praise Him! I wish the rocks would have spoken up, that would have scared them to death, right?  

 

It is just like today, there are many people from liberal universities, from pagan nations, and from amongst our own communities and families mocking us who praise Jesus telling us to shut up! But we can’t! Even when some are silent, others show up to give Him praise! Jesus overwhelms the place when He shows up!

 

6. Another focus, take into account rocks are also used as killing instruments and we all know about people dying by stoning. If a person broke the law and committed an abomination, they would be stoned to death. The Jews and most nations no longer practice this, but many Islamic nations still do. You can see a person murdered by stoning by Muslims on Youtube (if they did not erase them), if you want to. But God himself will stone the wicked in the latter days for cursing at Him and at His Son Jesus, Revelation 9:18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone (stone!), which issued out of their mouths. 

 

Stones and landscapes may stay put or idle for millennia, or stones may be cut and transported for construction, no matter how they are used, afterwards they bear a testimony which can tell a story of how God, or men utilized them. 

 

7. God is connected to all of nature, and He is aware when blood is spilled on the ground or on the rocks.

What did God say after Cain killed Abel? Genesis 4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. God is in pain for all of the atrocities man does to His fellow man and destroying the precious life on earth. 

 

All of creation bursts out in praise to Jesus when Jesus is near, but in the meantime the situation of our earth and nature is sad and cruel because few praise Him. Due to evil men, and Godless mockers, our creation is under stress. Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

 

We usually think of stones as rough, dumb, heavy, common as dirt objects, but they can be more than that. Jesus referred to himself as a stone! Matthew 21:42 ‘Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’

 

Because we love and praise Him, God wants us to become as a precious stone as Jesus became, did you know that? The scripture infers that we, the believers are as precious stones fitting along side of Jesus. 1 Peter 2:7 ‘Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner’.

 

8. And considering the palm branches that were used for praising, Jesus also described Himself as the vine, and we are His branches that must stay connected to Him in order to stay alive. John 15:1 ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.’

 

One other thing about stones, certain ones actually communicate! When I was a kid I was fascinated that you can make your own radio, that quartz could absorb radio waves and you could hear through the quartz. A friend and I built one and a fence was the antenna. Quartz is also used in fine watches to get the exact seconds of measurement. 

 

The Hebrew priests had breastplates with 12 stones, symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel. So precious stones have been communicating and praising God from the beginning. Don’t mystics always use their crystals to connect to the spiritual realm? But I doubt the things they claim to hear! We are warned not to listen to the soothsayers!

 

Precious stones make up the structure and the walls of heaven! We have studied this before in Revelation 21. So, Jesus’ connection to stones is evident. Jesus’ connection to all of creation, even within inanimate objects like stones precious or not, is evident as His presence invokes praise.  

 

9. Shutting up when Jesus is near? It’s impossible! He is always the center of attention as a huge rock in the middle of the road. You either embrace Him or hate Him, but no one escapes ignoring Him.  Romans 9:33

As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling stone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. It is our calling to honor Jesus as the only rock and foundation upon which we should build our lives. 

 

Jesus’ humble entrance in Jerusalem invoked praise and He got the red carpet greeting, or I should say green carpet greeting with the palm branches! Not everyone praised Him though, the Pharisees and indifferent faithless didn’t. That is symbolic of how it has been for perpetual generations, some loudly praise and love Him, while others observe and think the praisers have lost their minds. But we haven’t, we recognize who He is, we feel Him, and we tremble with His vibrations (Word).

 

We will praise Jesus when we float into the gates of heaven, into the New Jerusalem. We will share heaven with many in that same crowd that praised Jesus on Palm Sunday in Jerusalem. So, praise God as they do in heaven. Praise Him every day, in every moment of the day, amen!

Fear Not! Jesus told us!

Fear Not!                           By Kelly Durant  9-7-14 Re: 4-6-25

 

Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. John 14 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

 

2. Can you recall a time when you have been very afraid? Everyone has to learn to deal with fear and I think we all hate it! I find that this is an important topic considering all that is happening in the world! Usually most people fear death and things associated with it and this is normal! People with no fear who drive 140 mph on the highway on a motorcycle eventually end up dead within a short time for being so careless, crazy, and not a good steward over their body that God sewed together with several trillions of living cells! Our bodies were created by God, so we must treat them as rented property to be respected. Fear and adrenalin rushes serve a good purpose, to get us to move out of the way when in danger, or maybe to stop, and we must pray for wisdom to know when to move and when to stop!

 

Sometimes our nightmares can be what scares us the most! I recall in Chile and in Colombia, after hearing many stories of people being tortured in my English classes from students I had a few vivid nightmares in color a few times. One time I dreamed that the guerrillas had captured me and they were going to hang me like Hitler hung the Jews on the gallows because I was a gringo guilty of preaching the gospel of Jesus when they were imposing atheism communism. I recall the barb wire (barb wire?!) that was to go around my neck and I prayed inside, “Ok Lord, give me the grace to just accept that this is the end!” I thought, Lord please let me die fast? When you wake up sweating and shaken you must hold on to God! Have you ever dreamed something traumatic like that, that you were being murdered? Or maybe you have almost died for real in some accident!

 

Jesus, in one of His last messages before going to die on the cross was to “fear not” John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled (basically don’t have fear); you believe in God, believe also in Me. God wants us to know about the evil in the world but not fear it! As a young man, I read history books (look up Will & Ariel Durant sometime) and I became aware that mutilators and sadistic murderers were common place. Some people today are just waiting for an opportunity to be as evil as they want to be as in recent past wars. The events of the times today are calling us to a wake up, to get close to God, and to be ready to confront serious troubles or go to be with God at any moment! After all, a hurricane, a tornado, a fire, another 911, or a disaster of any kind could happen at any moment! This is why I, and all Christians, keep repeating that all should deny their selves and start serving God now! 

 

3."Fear not" is one of the most repeated commands in the Bible!   In fact there are 366 "fear nots" in the Bible! If you think about it that is one for every day of the year including Leap Year!  God doesn't want his children to go a single day without hearing His word of comfort, and to "fear not." Why? Because we are weak and fear is a real torture!

 

One of my favorite verses the one of today, Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 

 

When you think about it everyone has to deal with fear of some kind. What are your fears? From Adam on down to the present all the major prophets, Moses, Isaiah, Elijah, Jeremiah, Job, basically every person of God reached a point where they feared that their life had come to an tragic end! Sadly, everyone has to pass through valleys of death! Have you ever feared and that you would be murdered by the hands of your enemies or that you or a loved one would die from circumstances out of your control?  

 

4. So what do you fear? To conquer anything you have to identify it! Most people suppress and avoid their fears but that is not the way to overcome them. Fear is an enemy, and God wants us to identify the enemy and conquer him! Here are a few general observations about what fears different people may experience, and meditating on fear instead of the strength that comes from God dries your spirit and destroys your health!

 

Amongst children the greatest fears they have are those of being beat up or bullied, of being abandoned by their parents separating, or of being rejected without any friends. In many cities already by age 9 or 10 they fear they will be shot in the streets by a stray bullet! And around the world there are multimillions of homeless street children!

 

Here is a pressure that breaks the spirit of kids that I have always detested. Some parents are impossible with their kids and these adults are such proud arrogant perfectionists that they make their kids suffer immensely by their demands! The fear of failure or of not being perfect drives many kids to drugs, escapism, and even suicide! These victimized children fear they will never win their parents approval no matter how much they accomplish in school academically, by sports, or by their talents. On the other side of the coin, some kids fear that because there is no parental involvement in their present lives that it means they will have no support ever to progress. Many teens fear living meaningless lives, to live lonely rejected by their peers lives, and grow up to be as messed up and as bad as their irresponsible parents are!

 

5. Parents or adults have their own set of fears as well. Adults often fret over financial ruin, joblessness, homelessness, ill health, rejection, family failure and the list goes on and on! Another fear is not being able to find or keep a spouse and having someone to love in life! Many want to be loved, but few are willing to love to get it back.

 

The thing that I have sometimes feared was what Job feared, Job 3:25 “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.”  This means we all have secret fears that no one knows, and the worst nightmare one can have is for one of those things to happen to you! I had a fear of our resident visa application getting rejected in Brazil, and guess what? It got rejected! God wanted us in Bolivia I deduct; He will explain all of His reasons in heaven, I am sure. 

 

In other words, all of us want to live with love and have security but in life all these things are not promised and all can be lost from just one mistake, or from an outside attack of the enemy or some unforeseen disaster. The good thing is that with God we at least receive consolation in our fears, we have the promises of the Bible for comfort, and as the great men and women of God in the Bible we will overcome! The faithless people in the world actually lose their minds and become psychotic, irrational, and out-of-control desperate when their fears overcome them! May we never succumb to such a state of despair, God always works things out! But our part is to trust and obey and to pray!

 

6. Senior adults have their fears as well! We often ask ourselves, how will the remainder of my life be spent, with good health or poor health? Can there still be purpose in my life?  Will anyone care or notice if I am there or not there anymore? Loneliness is a very big issue and those who have no family should have us as their Christian brothers and sisters as family. The elderly need lots of love and attention and they really do have a great need to feel love.

 

Our Salvation Army ministry in the rest homes, hospitals, and jails is very important! Matthew 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Loving those suffering is like loving Jesus Himself! 

 

Many people often worry, will my family love and respect me even when I may be sick and with no finances?  Will I keep my mental sharpness or will others have to care for me? Well, most Christians that I know stay stronger and healthier in their old age because they have lived with the peace and strength of God for decades! Don’t worry!

         

7. Now the spiritual fears: Cadets or new ministers have their own set of fears. Will I measure up? How will I do learning the Salvation Army's administration? The fear of failure, of being in charge one day and making the wrong decisions, is a real torment!

 

Candidates also have their fears like will I be accepted to study at EBC?  Can God actually use me in preaching His Word? Will I survive alright leaving behind my family and familiar surroundings?  Can I make it if the enemy attacks me and everyone abandons me? When no friends or family are near, will loneliness and rejection cause me to become weak in the faith? All pastors endure a great deal of attacks from dark forces that they will not share with others about as well!

 

A fear of a spiritual attack by the enemy using demons torments many people as well! People hear voices in their heads and some say horrible things! We are God’s children and we are a target for the enemy as he is very insistent on trying to gain our allegiance to him either by fear or by temptation and the pleasures of sin for a season. But Satan eventually does go away after we pray in the name of Jesus! James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

         

8. As a nation, we have many fears at the moment. We see a possible WW3 on the horizon.  The never-ending threat of a nuclear bombs remains real, chemical weapons use is not off the table, and life-threatening communicable diseases gives everyone serious reason for concern! 

 

We are witnessing the decimation of our value system as immorality multiplies. Our democracy seems to be elusive as we are reminded daily that our rights are not respected. The threat of wars, the national debt, the apathy and lack of love from the people, all seems to contribute to an outlook of impending doom! The fear of the future is real as well but since Jesus wins the in final battle we do not have to worry, we are on the winning side!

 

Many people believe that this is the ‘beginning of sorrows’ as Jesus predicted would come before the end of days. The fear of this being a time of ‘great tribulation’ that it probably is the ‘end of days’, is not very comforting. What is comforting is that God’s Holy Spirit comforts us despite it all! Jesus got comfort from God sweating blood before His crucifixion, and how did He get it, from prayer!

 

9. Joanna Weaver, a best-selling Christian author wrote:  "Fear can make us do slightly crazy, often inappropriate things.  Fear blurts out thoughtless, sometimes hurtful words.  Fear babbles.  It freaks out.  It searches frantically for explanations and solutions.  Fear sews together fig leaves to cover our inadequacies and paints bright smiles to hide our tears.  It forces us to hide behind facades simply because we don't know what else to do. . ."

 

When you talk to a friend, it doesn’t take long for you to feel what fears they have. The problem is usually you and I are just not giving it all to God and trusting it will be alright as we know to do! We are to pray, give all our worries to God, and let Him stay up all night, not you! Share your fears with a close friend also so you pray for each other!

 

Consider also some wise words from Mark Twain when he said, ‘I am a man of many worries and fears, most of which never happened!’ It is true, most of what we fear and worry about never does happen! We must conquer worries and fears with prayer, and by quoting God’s promises!

 

10. The Bible gives us beautiful comforting and encouragement verses for all of us to claim in our time of need.

Psalm 56:3-4  "When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust;  I will not be afraid."

Psalm 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life -- of whom shall I be afraid?" 

Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

 

No matter your circumstance, “fear not!” it is a commandment! God is here and He is watching over us. The worst fear would be death, right? Well, that is not so tragic, that will be just the beginning of our new life in heaven! I have always liked Paul’s attitude when he says Phil 1:21 21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”.

 

So “Fear Not!” 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. And as Plato said, “We can easily forgive a child that fears the darkness, the real tragedy of life is that men are afraid of the light.”  God wants us close to Him and He takes away our fears! All your fears are nothing compared to how God cares for you, we must please Him or fear His judgment for the consequences of reaping what our sinful selves deserve. 

 

Don’t entertain fears or let anyone else you know be overcome with fear! Be encouraged today that Jesus taught us to fear not, and fear not is what we must obey!