Dear friends,
I pray that you are being blessed of the Lord. As I was meditating this morning I thought about the centurion who had a servant at home paralyzed. He was one of two gentiles in the gospels whom Jesus praised for their faith. What was different about his faith that Jesus would remark," I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel." Hebrews 11:6 says," Without faith it is impossible to please God". If we are truly born again and love God, it will be our desire to please Him. So I want to take a few moments to examine the faith of this centurion.
And Jesus said to him," I will come and heal him." The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. But only speak a word and my servant will be healed. "For I, also, am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one,'Go', and he goes and to another, 'come' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." Matthew 8:7-9
First, let's look at the centurion. A centurion was an officer in the Roman army. He was in charge of a century which was a subdivision of a Roman legion. This would be one hundred soldiers under his command. We will draw some thoughts from this fact in a moment. Let's look at the entire text (Matthew 8:5-13) and see what we can glean from his character and actions.
In verse 5 we see, he came to Jesus. He sought Jesus out. He came to him pleading; he was persistent. Hebrews 11:6 which we quoted the first part above ends with these words: "And that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him". He came seeking Jesus. Let's make a couple of points within this point. 1. A Roman coming to a Jew for help was a great act of humility.
2. For him to have sought Jesus out, he must have believed Jesus could heal his servant.
In verse 7, we see faith drew a response from Jesus. God is moved by faith. It is faith that takes hold of that which is in the kingdom of heaven and brings it to earth.
In verse 8, we see the incredible humility of this man. Though in the natural his position was superior to a Jewish man, he humbled himself before Jesus. He asked Jesus to just simply speak a word and his servant would be healed. This was, indeed, great faith. Some of Jesus' best friends at Bethany, said ," Lord, if you had only been here, Lazarus would not have died, yet this Roman soldier said that he didn't have to come there, just speak a word.
In verse 9, I believe we find the keys to a victorious life.
1. We cannot have authority unless we are under authority. The centurion had authority over the hundred because that authority was delegated to him by a higher authority. He recognized that Jesus was operating under the authority of God. Jesus was fully man and fully God. As a man and a son He was totally submitted to the Father. He did nothing of His own initiative; He said nothing of His own initiative. He received His instruction from the Father. The works of the Father He did.
2. All authority has been given to Jesus. Matthew 28:18 John 17:2 Says the Father has given Jesus authority over all flesh. The centurion recognized that sickness, disease, infirmity,etc. were subject to the authority of Jesus and just like he could command a soldier under his charge, Jesus could tell disease to go and it had to go . He could tells demons to go and they had to go. He could tell the fig tree to die and it died. All natural kingdoms are subject to the kingdom of God.
So how do we walk in kingdom authority? To walk in kingdom authority, we must be totally submitted to the King. Authority ceases where submission ends. In James 4:6b,7 God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. The centurion was a great candidate for grace because of his humility and his recognition of a higher authority. If there are areas of our lives we have not submitted to God, then we are resisting God and submitting them to the devil. You may say that sounds a little hard, but remember what Samuel said to Saul when he was disobedient concerning the destruction of the Amalekites. "Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king." 1Samuel 15:23 As I was reading this, the thought came to me that though Saul remained king for many years after this that the kingly authority that God made available to him was gone, soon to be given to a shepherd boy with the heart of a shepherd, a heart after God's own heart.
In summary, authority is delegated to us by the King. We are His ambassadors given authority to do His business until He comes or as some translations say occupy until He comes. We, too, are men and women under authority.
Blessings,
Herb Dean
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Love thy Neighbor as Yourself
Dear friends,
I pray that you are increasing in the wisdom and knowledge of our Lord. I want to revisit something today that is on my heart. It is an area that I have had to deal with in my own life and feel it may be a key in the lives of many of God's children. I pray this will minister to someone today.
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31
Many years ago in a conversation with a Christian brother, there was something said that caused a reaction inside me. He had simply said that the Christian life was not that complicated, that all we had to do was love God with all our being, love ourselves, and love our neighbors. The part that caused a rising up in me was the thought of loving ourselves. It was only after I had prayed and meditated on the word of God that I saw that reaction for what it was, a religious spirit. There needed to be an adjustment in my thinking. There needed to be repentance.
Growing up in the church there was much emphasis on salvation, but not nearly so much on discipling. We heard how we were filthy, rotten sinners and that even after we were saved our hearts were still desperately wicked. Most of us lived with a spirit of rejection any way, because of our fallen state and even after we were saved we didn't measure up. I don't know about you, but I felt it was spiritual to hate oneself.
For some of us hating ourselves was not something we had to attain to; we already did. Growing up I didn't like the way I looked; I had big ears and a long skinny neck and in the fifth grade I found out I had a big nose, too. A spirit of rejection not only sets us up for rejection by others, but is really rooted in self rejection.
I am convinced that many of the issues people are dealing with today both in the church and the world is rooted in self-hatred. How can I say that? Foundationally speaking, this is what God showed me: how can I love my neighbor as myself, if I don't love myself. I cannot love others if I don't love me. So many relationships are destroyed by the fact that we can't love others if we don't love ourselves. Look at the marriage relationship; can the husband truly love his wife if he hates himself. If we don't love ourselves all relationships are just surface. We live with a sense of shame, believing we are flawed and believing that if you really knew me you would hate me, too. It causes one to throw up a wall that know one can get through.
So many of the health issues of our day are brought on by self-hatred. Obesity is often a result. In extreme cases depression, suicidal thoughts, death wishes, destructive habits, addictions, and abuse. Sometimes it manifests itself in anger toward God like the clay saying to the potter, "Why have You made me this way?"
So when we talk about loving ourselves, what are we saying? First, we are not talking about egotistical, "How wonderful I am kind of thinking." Loving yourself is being able to receive yourself as God's creation fearfully and wonderfully made, not deriving one's self worth by appearance, ability, intelligence, or any other measurement of man, but by the love and worth that God has given you.
Years ago when my son was collecting baseball cards, he asked me how much a certain card was worth and I replied, "It is worth what someone is willing to pay for it." How often I have thought of those words in reference to what God was willing to pay for us! If your value is determined by how much someone is willing to pay, what was paid for you?
Sometimes when I am writing or teaching, the more I get into it the more it grows and there is so much in this that I am not even scratching the surface. I do want to include some scriptures that I believe are applicable and maybe make a comment or two.
Proverbs 18:9b (Amp. Bible) and he who does not use his endeavors to heal himself is brother to him who commits suicide. Now why did I put that in there? Because if we have a healthy love for self we will take care of our bodies which are, after all, temples of the Holy Spirit. As we said earlier much of the abuse many inflict on their bodies is due to self-hatred.
Psalms 139: 13-16 For You formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed, and in Your book they were all written, the days fashioned for me. when as yet there were none of them. You are not an accident. When God made you He didn't say ,"Oops." God wasn't having a bad day; He doesn't have Mondays. You are a unique creation of a loving God.
Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Rejected, no more, you are accepted.
Romans 15:7 Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. Know that you have been received, receive yourself, and then you can receive others.
Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you: I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. In the new covenant you have been given a heart transplant; you don't have that old deceitfully wicked heart anymore.
May you be ever encouraged by His love extended to you and shed abroad in you by the Holy Spirit.
Be blessed,
Herb Dean
I pray that you are increasing in the wisdom and knowledge of our Lord. I want to revisit something today that is on my heart. It is an area that I have had to deal with in my own life and feel it may be a key in the lives of many of God's children. I pray this will minister to someone today.
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31
Many years ago in a conversation with a Christian brother, there was something said that caused a reaction inside me. He had simply said that the Christian life was not that complicated, that all we had to do was love God with all our being, love ourselves, and love our neighbors. The part that caused a rising up in me was the thought of loving ourselves. It was only after I had prayed and meditated on the word of God that I saw that reaction for what it was, a religious spirit. There needed to be an adjustment in my thinking. There needed to be repentance.
Growing up in the church there was much emphasis on salvation, but not nearly so much on discipling. We heard how we were filthy, rotten sinners and that even after we were saved our hearts were still desperately wicked. Most of us lived with a spirit of rejection any way, because of our fallen state and even after we were saved we didn't measure up. I don't know about you, but I felt it was spiritual to hate oneself.
For some of us hating ourselves was not something we had to attain to; we already did. Growing up I didn't like the way I looked; I had big ears and a long skinny neck and in the fifth grade I found out I had a big nose, too. A spirit of rejection not only sets us up for rejection by others, but is really rooted in self rejection.
I am convinced that many of the issues people are dealing with today both in the church and the world is rooted in self-hatred. How can I say that? Foundationally speaking, this is what God showed me: how can I love my neighbor as myself, if I don't love myself. I cannot love others if I don't love me. So many relationships are destroyed by the fact that we can't love others if we don't love ourselves. Look at the marriage relationship; can the husband truly love his wife if he hates himself. If we don't love ourselves all relationships are just surface. We live with a sense of shame, believing we are flawed and believing that if you really knew me you would hate me, too. It causes one to throw up a wall that know one can get through.
So many of the health issues of our day are brought on by self-hatred. Obesity is often a result. In extreme cases depression, suicidal thoughts, death wishes, destructive habits, addictions, and abuse. Sometimes it manifests itself in anger toward God like the clay saying to the potter, "Why have You made me this way?"
So when we talk about loving ourselves, what are we saying? First, we are not talking about egotistical, "How wonderful I am kind of thinking." Loving yourself is being able to receive yourself as God's creation fearfully and wonderfully made, not deriving one's self worth by appearance, ability, intelligence, or any other measurement of man, but by the love and worth that God has given you.
Years ago when my son was collecting baseball cards, he asked me how much a certain card was worth and I replied, "It is worth what someone is willing to pay for it." How often I have thought of those words in reference to what God was willing to pay for us! If your value is determined by how much someone is willing to pay, what was paid for you?
Sometimes when I am writing or teaching, the more I get into it the more it grows and there is so much in this that I am not even scratching the surface. I do want to include some scriptures that I believe are applicable and maybe make a comment or two.
Proverbs 18:9b (Amp. Bible) and he who does not use his endeavors to heal himself is brother to him who commits suicide. Now why did I put that in there? Because if we have a healthy love for self we will take care of our bodies which are, after all, temples of the Holy Spirit. As we said earlier much of the abuse many inflict on their bodies is due to self-hatred.
Psalms 139: 13-16 For You formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed, and in Your book they were all written, the days fashioned for me. when as yet there were none of them. You are not an accident. When God made you He didn't say ,"Oops." God wasn't having a bad day; He doesn't have Mondays. You are a unique creation of a loving God.
Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Rejected, no more, you are accepted.
Romans 15:7 Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. Know that you have been received, receive yourself, and then you can receive others.
Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you: I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. In the new covenant you have been given a heart transplant; you don't have that old deceitfully wicked heart anymore.
May you be ever encouraged by His love extended to you and shed abroad in you by the Holy Spirit.
Be blessed,
Herb Dean
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