Rosalie and me

Still in Ohio and hoping my poor car holds up tomorrow through another long drive back to Chicago. It seems to struggle the most in the heat and humidity and it’s supposed to get up into the mid-‘80s with thunderstorms.

This morning I shipped off a new piece for my organization’s Facebook site. I have been writing about different seniors for Older Americans Month. This particular article is about a Jewish woman who I was able to talk to on different occasions about trusting in God's provision of His Son for her sins to gain eternal life in heaven. Rosalie, raised in Hebrew school, was a believer in the God of the Bible and read from her Old Testament often and had bookmarks all through it.

Here’s the article:

There is a bond between younger and older single women that is very special and needed. In my five years with H.O.M.E. I’ve been blessed to have had the friendship of a number of female seniors who were without spouses.

They have encouraged, inspired and molded me, especially by example through their strength amidst adversity (everything from diabetes and arthritis complications to full-blown Alzheimer’s and renal failure). No matter what was going wrong in their own world, they always gave me a caring, attentive ear, wanting to provide me real-life wisdom and guidance. I was just fortunate that I was able to be of help to them too.

With one of these women, 97-year-old Rosalie, I was literally at her bedside, holding her hand just before she stopped breathing and was, minutes later, determined by a hospice nurse to have passed away.

Only a few months earlier I had been in the E.R. with Rosalie just after she’d fallen down in her bedroom and split her head open, losing a tremendous amount of blood for someone as fragile as her. She really thought she was a goner! She even said, half-kidding, "I want to die but not this way."

A week later when I visited her at the nursing home she was sent to for rehab, she really did appear close to death. She was so weak she couldn't even lift her head to show me her new haircut (after they shaved part of her scalp for the stitches). She had trouble keeping even one eye open.

She reminded me that day that she felt a special connection to me from the minute we met and I told her I did too. She then told me again, as she often did, how pretty I was and that I was a beautiful person inside as well as outside.

What I loved about Rosalie was her unique sense of style, spunk, independent fierceness and up-front humor. It was her childlike boldness and honesty that most grabbed the affection of young and old alike.

Perhaps it came from all her clean living—she never drank, smoke or ate junk food and was an avid tennis player into her 70s. She didn’t like swearing and, although a good historian of old movies and old movie stars, cringed at cinematic violence or sex scenes.

In general, Rosalie, who was proud to tell you she attended Hebrew school as a child, had a terrific memory and keen sense of awareness, especially for her age, and was a treasure-trove of facts from the past (none of them glossed over or cleaned up) guaranteed to make you go, “Wow, I had no idea . . .”

By surprise, I recently found in my computer files a report I had written on Rosalie from 2009, when I was a Resident Assistant at the Pat Crowley House. The note from me to the house coordinator read:

“On Friday, Nov. 21, around 8:30 p.m., the intercom was dialed by Rosalie. Upon reaching her on the second floor, as she stood next to the phone in the hallway, she complained of not being able to breathe and shaking uncontrollably. She also said she was perspiring. Upon inquiry, she told me she had never experienced such symptoms before and had no idea what could be wrong.

“As we discussed what action to take, and after I proposed the idea of calling 911, she called her son Earl to get his input. After she handed me the phone, I gave Earl her symptoms, to which he said, “She’s having a panic attack. I’ll come over.”

“I then helped Rosalie return to her bed, at which point I covered her up and sat with her, talking and getting her to talk back. Her symptoms dissipated markedly as we sat together and she was able to even laugh on occasion.

“She continued to complain of shortness of breath and sweating, although I did not find her to be very moist at all after feeling her neck and shoulders. She did appear to be gasping for breath at times, especially when we discussed her symptoms.

 

“Earl arrived approximately 25 minutes later and she was visibly relieved by his appearance. He let me know that he was prepared to sit with her until she felt better, or fell asleep, and I left them alone (as he had indicated he wanted), stressing with them to call me if there was anything I could do to help.

“The next morning, Rosalie complained of being very weak and having an upset stomach. I asked her if she might like chicken noodle soup and a piece of toast for lunch. She came down for lunch and seemed much improved.

“By dinner, she was back to her old self and not complaining of any problems. She had a good appetite and shared in a lively after-dinner conversation about racism against Jews, old movie stars and Chicago history.”

Jumpin' (and jivin') Jehoshaphat!

Of the amazing Bible account in II Chronicles 20 about king Jehoshaphat’s mighty choir that went to battle, a website article starts out, “In all of history, this had to be one of the most unconventional ways to try to defend a country under siege. Who ever heard of an army being led by a group of singers and musicians? But sing and play they did!”

The other week, Jordan tied this victory of song, not sword, story into his sermon about the front-line faith employed by the Ephesians. 

“Jehoshaphat, king of Israel of Judah, is being attacked by the Ammonites and Moabites and a couple other ‘ites’,” explained Jordan. “The Ammonites and Moabites are kinfolk of Israel—they’re Lot’s descendants. They hated Israel. They make war, come against Judah, and when they do, Jehoshaphat went in before the Lord and said, ‘Lord, we need to focus on you.’

“All Israel came to the temple to pray. You remember when Solomon dedicated the temple in chapter 7 of II Chronicles, there’s that great verse people often quote: ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’

“The next verse says, ‘and I will hear them from this place.’ You know where you had to practice II Chronicles 7:14-15? According to the chapter, it’s what you do at Jerusalem at the door of the temple, and verse 15 says that ‘when prayers are made from here I’ll hear.’ You know what Jehoshaphat did? That’s where he had all of Israel.

“And they begin to pray, ‘Lord, remember me?’ The armies are out there. You go back and read II Chronicles 20 this afternoon, would you?

“They say, ‘You’re the Creator God. You own everything. And you gave to Israel through Abraham this land. Lord, we want you to remember your Word. We want you to remember your covenant with us. We want you to remember who you made us. We’re the seed of Abraham. This is your possession; not those people’s. They want to throw us out of your land! Help!’

“And then he ends that thing in verse 12, he says, ‘We can’t help ourselves; we can’t do it. But Lord our eyes are upon you.’ Isn’t that a great verse? ‘Lord, we need help! Look  at all the enemies! We can’t help ourselves; we’ve plead our case. We’ve stood on the Word and now our eyes are on you to see what you’re going to do.’

“One of the guys stood up and says, ‘Forget about it; don’t worry about. I’m a prophet and the Lord’s going to take care of this. You go back and tell Israel they don’t have to fight this battle. They can go home; He’s going to fight for them.’

“Now that’s a good word isn’t it? The Lord’s gonna fight; you’re not gonna have to fight. All those armies out there, forget it, He’s going to take care of them. Then He says, ‘All you got to do is believe me. Just believe me.’

“Jehoshaphat gets his war counsel together. He says, ‘Here’s the deal, guys. They got the guns, they got the bullets, they got the drones. They got all the artillery ready to go out there. The Lord said, ‘Trust Him. We don’t have to clean our muskets; they’re dead meat!’

“And that war counsel said, ‘Let’s take the dare of faith. Let’s just believe the Lord.’ So you know what they did? Before they sent out their army, they gathered up a whole bunch of singers. They got the choir and set them out. The choir goes out worshipping God, and that great thing in the Psalms about ‘Praise the Lord, for His mercy endureth forever,’ that’s what they sang!

“The Ammonites and the Moabites and all the other ‘ites’ look out there and they see that coming, and before they know what to do, the Lord went among them and killed them all so by the time the Israelis got there, they were all dead.

“Now if you see a bunch of dead rich people on the ground, what do you do? It took them three days to collect up all the booty. It took them three days to collect up all the riches and they didn’t lift a hand; all they did was lift their voice in praise of God!!

“You know what they did? They took the dare of faith. That’s stillness and calmness. The fear left because their eyes were upon Thee. Listen, life on the front line is about faith. God is after people who are captured by His eternal purpose; who find out what it is and give their life to doing it.”

******

Paul writes the Ephesians in Eph. 1:15, “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
[16] Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.”

Jordan explains, “These were people who were notable believers. These were notorious people. They had a reputation and they were living in a notable way. They were functioning as an effective local assembly that reached out across a whole region of Asia with the gospel. Where Paul would go, he’d hear about their faith and their love for Jesus. He would hear about their love for the saints.”  

Nobody else in the Bible like him . . .

The disciples were to go back and show those works of Jesus Christ to John. Matthew 1: 4-6 says, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
[5] The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
[6] And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.”

Jordan explains, “In other words, ‘Blessed is the man who will look at those works, understand that I am the Messiah, and not be offended just because it isn’t working out just like John thought it was going to work out, or he thinks it ought to work out.’

“Now, you say, ‘Well, why didn’t Jesus go and get John the Baptist out of prison?’ The reason is that wasn’t His responsibility to do. Who was responsible for going and getting their prophet out of jail? Israel. How could have John gotten out of prison if Israel had have received her king? That’s what the issue is in Matthew 11: 7-15.

“Verses 7-8 says, ‘And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
[8] But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.’

“I mean, if you’re looking for a lace-pants sissy, you don’t find him preaching on the street and in the wilderness. You find them in the tennis courts and in the politicians’ quarters. That’s what Christ’s saying. He’s just talking plain.

“The passage goes on, ‘But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
[10] For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
[11] Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
[12] And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.’

“He’s saying, ‘John’s a prophet, but he’s more than a prophet because he’s the one prophet that God said would come before the Messiah showed up. He’s that prophet the Scripture wrote about and said was going to show up before I came.’

“Verse 11. That’s some statement, isn’t it? How would you like the Lord Jesus Christ to say that about you? Well, He wouldn’t, would He? But He did about John. He was the forerunner of the Messiah. He was personally commissioned by the God the Father. He was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb. You know anybody else like that? I don’t know of anybody in the Bible like that.

“ ‘He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.’ John’s the greatest guy who ever lived. He’s the most blessed, most privileged, most used, most highly exalted man ever come on the scene so far, and yet the guy who gets in that kingdom is going to have a better position. He’s greater than John. The least in the kingdom is going to have a greater opportunity. He’s not talking about personally being better; He’s talking about having a greater opportunity.

“Verse 12. They’re trying to get a hold of the kingdom by force. If you want to see that, go to the parable in Matthew 21:33.

“You see, the rulers of Israel at that time had been really worse than the ones before them because they took the Son Himself and didn’t hesitate to do violence against Him and kill Him.

“Well, that violent bunch of people there, He identifies down in verses 41-45. He’s talking to the religious leaders of Israel; these people who are opposing the little flock.

“Seizing the inheritance has to do with trying to control and take over the nation Israel. Isaiah 19:25. In Matthew 21:41, He says ‘the Father is going to take the kingdom from you and give it to that little flock.’ That’s what you’re dealing with in Matthew 11:12.

“Notice what He says there: if Israel had received the kingdom, John the Baptist would have been Elijah.

“In the last chapter of your Old Testament, the last four names that are mentioned are found in Malachi 4:4-5. This chapter is about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

“Elijah the prophet is said clearly to be one of the two witnesses that witnessed to Israel according to Zechariah 4 and Revelation 11. The two witnesses in Revelation 11 are not New Testament brand-new information. They’re prophesied in Zechariah 4. One of the names is Elijah. The other name is never clearly given. He’s just called ‘that prophet.’ But who is that prophet? That’s Moses. Deuteronomy 18:18.

“Interestingly enough, you know who they are because they’re the last four names mentioned in your Bible. They knew before the Messiah was going to come, Elijah was going to come. Malachi 3:1:

‘Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to this temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.’

“Now, that’s Elijah coming and preparing the people before the Messiah comes, just as the two witnesses will do.

“Come to Matthew 3 and notice that all of that is said to be fulfilled in John the Baptist. Matthew 3:1. That quote from Malachi 3:1 is Isaiah 40:3. Mark 1.

“There’s no doubt from those passages that they’re clearly a reference, according to Matthew 3, to John the Baptist.

“Notice what John the Baptist says about himself in John 1:19-23: ‘And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
[20] And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
[21] And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
[22] Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
[23] He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.’

“Wait a minute. Matthew 3 says, 'He’s the voice; He’s Elijah.' John says, ‘No, I’m not Elijah.’ That’s confusing, isn’t it?

“If that isn’t enough, come to Matthew 17:10. Jesus said, ‘Elijah’s already come!’ What’s going on?! He says in verse 11, ‘He shall first come,’ and in verse 12, ‘He is already come.’

“The answer for all that is in Matthew 11:14: ‘And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.’ You see that second word in that verse? ‘IF you will receive it.’ IF Israel had received her Messiah; IF Israel had received her king and kingdom, John the Baptist would have sufficed to have been Elijah.

“But because God Almighty knew they weren’t going to respond, He didn’t send Elijah; He sent John. Luke 1:17. This is the angel’s message to John the Baptist’s daddy.         

“You see, John the Baptist is a type of Elijah who would have fulfilled the prophecy if Christ had come back. The issue is the Second Advent of Christ. They kill John, they demand the crucifixion of Christ and finally they commit the murder of Stephen.

“They’re wickedness progressively gets worse and worse. They should have gone and secured the release of John. They didn’t, not because of something somebody else did to them, but because of their own willful, deliberate, knowing rejection.

“God, knowing what they were going to do, sent John the Baptist instead of Elijah. He sent him in the spirit and power of Elijah--sent him in such a way that he, as far as looking and knowing in the prophecy, would have been Elijah had they received Christ. The opportunity is completely given.”

THEN, not if, principle

Matthew 14:3 says, “For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.”

Verse 10-11 goes on, “And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.
[11] And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.”

Jordan explains, “John’s in prison for some time, and by the time you get to chapter 11, John has been in prison for a considerable period of time. In Mark 6, notice that John had carried on quite an extensive ministry even when in jail. John was a fascinating character.

“Mark 6:17 says, ‘For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.’ John was a pretty plain preacher and Herodias got mad.

“You preach against sin you’re going to have problems and you stick your finger in the ruler’s nose to tell him he’s an adulterer and doesn’t have a right to be married to this woman he’s married to, and she get mad at him. She got him thrown in jail.

“Verse 20 says, ‘For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.’

 “She couldn’t kill John because Herod feared John, knowing he was a just man and a holy man. And Herod observed him . . . That’s interesting. Old Herod he’s been watching old John, keeping up with him.

“The passage continues, ‘And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;
[22] And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.
[23] And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.
[24] And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.

“Herod had many opportunities to have an audience with John. And he heard him gladly. And Herod did many of things John told him he ought to do, but when John ran afoul with that woman, buddy, his head wound up coming off.

*****

“Matthew 9:14 says, ‘Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?’

“It’s not uncommon that John’s disciples and Christ would be sending messages back and forth. The intercourse there is between John’s disciples and Jesus. They come asking Jesus questions and it’s nothing new for John’s disciples to come to Jesus to get some information. But now notice what the information is. Verse 3.

“Compare that statement with John 1:29. Is there any doubt in John’s mind about whether Jesus Christ is who God the Father said He was? None at all. John clearly identifies Him as the Son of God, the Messiah king and he also clearly identifies him in John 1:29 as the Redeemer to bring Israel’s salvation. And salvation for Israel meant salvation for the world, did it not?

“Matthew 11. What you got? John’s in jail for some time and so he says, ‘Now, fellows, you go down; He’s done all these miracles, He’s demonstrating Himself to be the Messiah.  Now you go down and you ask Him, ‘Are you really Him?’

“John takes a bad rap for this question sometimes. People say, ‘Well, John fell into unbelief.’ It’s not unbelief; it’s more just a little shakiness in his faith, based not upon a lack of faith, in a sense, but on something else.

“Matthew 11: 7 says, ‘And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?’ No, John wasn’t somebody who was vacillating back and forth. Man, John was right on it. He’s right on it all the time! Well, if John’s steady, what’s the answer? Look at verse 6 to see what Christ says about him: ‘And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.’

“You see, John was offended in Christ. You have to put yourself in his place. He wasn’t not believing in Christ. John is the forerunner of the Messiah and he says, ‘Repent the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ The Messiah shows up and what is he supposed to bring? The kingdom.

“And the forerunner of Messiah, where is he? He’s in jail. What John is saying is, ‘Are you sure you got all this stuff together because this isn’t what I’m expecting to happen? This isn’t what I was led to believe.’

“Isaiah 28:16. John’s problem was that he was confused.  He didn’t understand what the delay was in bringing in the kingdom. It wasn’t given to him to understand the delay. His issue was to introduce the Messiah.

“You got to put yourself in his shoes. I mean, ‘Why in the world am I in jail?! Where’s the kingdom?!’ That kind of thing. John’s patience was being severely tested and tried, and he was confused and, just like Moses in the Old Testament, just like time and time again back there, he couldn’t understand the delay in the fulfilling of the purpose.

“What’s going on here is the Lord’s allowing something to happen in John’s life that represents what he’s going to do in the tribulation period over here with this little flock of believers. They set before John these miracles. Look at Matthew 11: ‘Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
[5] The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
[6] And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.’

“Those things which they had seen and heard identified Christ as the Messiah. Not because they were supernatural activities; you can be of the devil’s crowd and do miracles. The miracles didn’t prove that He was the Messiah simply because they were miracles. Rather, they demonstrated who He was because His works were exactly what the Scripture said He would do.

“You see His works were an essential part of His credentials because the Scripture said when Messiah comes there are certain things that are going to take place. Isaiah 35:3: Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
[4] Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
[5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
[6] Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

“Your God’s going to come. Don’t miss the force of verse 4 there. I missed that verse for years. It wasn’t until just after I moved to Chicago I listened to a tape by JC O’Hair, one of the very first ones I ever listened to, and he quoted that passage and he pointed out what I’m trying to say to you and it makes it burn in my mind and I hope it does in yours.

“Your God will come and save you, THEN the eyes of the blind shall be opened . . . When are those things going to happen? When your God shows up. So when you see those things happening, who’s there?”

(To be continued . . . )

Two and two together

John 21:1 says, “After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.” What sea was He on? The sea of Tiberias is the sea of Galilee. John 6:1 says, “After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.”

Jordan explains, “It’s just got two names. Haven’t you ever been somewhere that had two names? Did you know there are four different names given to the sea of Galilee? Look them up.

“Can you figure out now how Mark 5:1 and Matthew 8:28 work together? What it is is two different localities right by each other on the sea coast. It’s no problem.

“You don’t have to tear pages out of your Bible; you just think about the thing awhile. It’s like over in Samuel. One place it says he’s got 4,000 horses, the next place it says he’s got 40,000. People get all worried about those horses over there.

“If you spend a half-hour reading Samuel you’ll see that in one place he’s talking about the horses pulling the chariots out into battle and in the other place he’s talking about how many horses he’s got in the stalls. Because everybody who’s got horses in battles will have a few spares around.

“If the Gentiles nations around did it, don’t you reckon Israel was smart enough to do it? Don’t you think a guy like David was smart enough to have a couple of spares?  Sure. Well, it’s just one of those principles of just applying the sanctified common sense God gave you to the problem.

“How about the thing where it says there are two possessed by devils? That’s something you’re going to notice in Mark and Luke as opposed to Matthew. Mark and Luke are going to focus on the one guy and Matthew’s going to focus on the two.

“Why would that be? What’s the number two in the Bible? How many witnesses do you have to have to have an acceptable testimony? Matthew’s presenting evidence; testimony. So he presents the number of testimony.

“Besides that, isn’t Matthew presenting the dispensational viewpoint? How many houses of Israel are there? How many branches in Israel? There’s two. Israel and Judah. The two branches and Matthew’s presenting the evidence of the thing here and the deliverance that Christ can bring for the both of them.

“Mark and Luke focus on the individual aspects, rather than these overriding dispensational things. That’s why they give you a lot more detail. That’s why they’re interested more in chronological order and those kind of things.”

Who's on first?

Matthew 8:21 says, “And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.”

Jordan explains, “That’d be some kind of disciple, wouldn’t it? ‘Let me first.’ Who’s supposed to be first? You? What kind of a sorry disciple are you if you come first? ‘I want to follow you but let me come first.’ That’s the guy’s problem.

“What does Christ in Matthew 6:33 say about His disciples? Didn’t He tell His disciples up on the mount just two chapters before, ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’

“The cross reference is in Luke 9. The idea is, ‘If you’re not willing to follow me and let bygones be bygones, not counting the cost, then you’re not going to be my disciple. If you’re always worried about what it’s going to cost you, you’re not going to make it.’ That’s what He’s saying to them.

“Matthew 10:34 says, ‘Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.’ Read that verse to a modernist sometime. That would kill them, wouldn’t it? All that stuff about peace on earth and disarmament. Christ said, ‘I didn’t come to put up the guns; I came give you a gun!’ That’s not the meek and mild, lowly little pacifist that everybody talked about.

“The reason is that the Lord Jesus Christ isn’t kin to the great pacifists of the world. He’s not kin to Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther King; these guys that get what try to do that way. His ministry was a different kind of ministry than that and they’re not following in the footsteps of Jesus when they do what they’re doing, good or bad.

“When Christ came there was a price to be paid in following Him and it wasn’t living in peace. The passage goes on, ‘For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
[36] And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
[37] He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
[38] And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.’

“The idea is if you’re worrying about taking care of mom and daddy 'til they die, hey, folks, there’s going to be a sharp difference of opinion in Israel. There’s going to be a division in Israel. There’s going to be some people that get into that ‘little flock’ up here and are identified together with the Messiah and there’s going to be some other people who won’t do it and that division is not going to be something you settle over afternoon tea and discuss in polite terminology. There’s going to be some heated debate about that thing and mommas are going to get mad at daughters and sons.

“He said, ‘I came to make a DIFFERENCE in Israel!’ and He’s talking about the formation of that ‘little flock’ in there, and if you’re going to be a part of that ‘little flock,’ you’re going to have to recognize Him.

*****

“Matthew 8 says, ‘And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.
[24] And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
[25] And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
[26] And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
[27] But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

“Who are His disciples? Well, they’re people who do verse 20. They’re willing to sell out and just be His; forsake everything and follow Him. People willing in verse 21-22 to put Him first. They’re willing to come and be identified with Him.

“Now what’s going to happen to them? Watch this miracle (in Matthew 8:26). He gets up and says, ‘Peace be still,’ and just whoosh, slew the flesh, brother! Boy, I love that. That’s wonderful. I mean, that’s something! That’s His power over creation.

“You know something, folks, the people who were with Him . . . Could He take care of them? Did it make any difference what kind of storm blew out there? Couldn’t He keep them safe? Don’t you see it right there in the miracle?

“You see what Matthew’s doing? He’s saying, ‘Blessing for Israel: They need to come be like the leper and get clean. They get the message out yonder to the Gentiles. They need to come and be restored and cleansed and have all these blessings go out to everybody and, ‘Hey, there’s a price to be paid. If you’re going to be His disciple, you gotta be His. You got to pay the price. He’s first. You got to take up your Cross and follow Him and look, He can take care of ya.’

“You see how Matthew puts that stuff there and He’s given you messages in telling you that? And demonstrating it to Israel. What does it say? ‘Israel requires a sign.’ They got to see that thing. There they are demonstrated out there in front of them.

“He can ensure the safety of all those who are with Him. There isn’t any problem. Verse 24. Back in chapter 7 you saw that tempest beating on that house built on the rock, on the sand. Type of the tribulation.

“I Peter says that that thing back in Noah’s day, the ark, is a like figure where into we’re saved over here. They’re saved in that ‘little flock.’ They’re identified there and they’re safe there and He’s asleep. Now in the other storm in Matthew 14, when He came walking on the sea, He wasn’t with them. This time He’s with them but He’s asleep. In verse 25 they have a panic attack.

“They’re all panicky and upset. And he said unto them, ‘Why are ye fearful o ye of little faith? I just slew the glass out there.’ And that’s His power, see? I mean, imagine serving somebody who can just get up and say, ‘Well, you want things to settle down, watch. Peace be still.’

“ ‘But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!’ Boy, that’s an understatement.

“Come back to Psalm 107: 28-29 and let me show you what kind of man he was: ‘Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
[29] He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.’

“You know who can do that? The ‘He’ of Psalm 107:29 is the fellow who’s in the boat with them. Reckon that can give you some comfort? Sure could, couldn’t it? You know what, folks, that’s one the great proof texts in the Bible there in Matthew 8 that the Lord Jesus Christ is Jehovah God in the flesh.”

Inside operation

Matthew 15:12 says, Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?

Jordan explains, “They’re saying to Christ, ‘You offended them!’ I love that! Hah! They got offended and they didn’t like to hear what He said. You know what He said? He said, ‘You see these birds out here, these religious leaders, the thing that’s wrong with them is they’ve got a wicked heart.’

“You know why that offended them. In verse 18 you see that list of things He’s giving you there? If you compare the things the Pharisees were doing in Mathew, Mark, Luke and John, you’ll see that Jesus Christ was reading their mind to them, because every one of those things you can find the Pharisee guilty of.

“Somebody said, ‘Where sin is cherished, truth is never relished.’ So they got all bent out of shape and He answered and said, ‘Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
[14] Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

“In other words, don’t worry about those religious leaders out there. God’s going to remove them. He’s going to root them up, take the kingdom from them and give it to the little flock.

“He’s saying, the nation is just blind out there, and if the blind lead the blind, both fall into the ditch. Proverbs 23:27 identifies the ditch: ‘For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
[28] She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.’

“Now you study the Book of Proverbs you’ll find out something real quick about that strange woman and that whore. Proverbs is not simply talking about some streetwalker down in the red light district. The strange woman and the whore he’s talking about has a spiritual connotation. That’s the lady of Revelation 17: ‘And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.’

“That’s the great strange woman and it’s the religious system of Baal worship. What He’s saying in Matthew 15 is, ‘Just don’t worry about those guys. God’s going to root them up, take the kingdom from them, give it to the little flock, and they’re all just going to go right on out there into that Antichrist religion that will take them right on into the tribulation and get them destroyed.’

“Religious tradition today will lead you to the same place. Religious tradition always amalgamates its participants with the religious system of the world, which is human viewpoint and tradition bound to Word of God, destroying the profit of the Word of God, and binding and seducing and deceiving followers into thinking they’re pleasing God by the tradition of their fathers.

“Verse 15-16 says, ‘Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?’

“ ‘I mean, Pete, can’t you get anything straight?’ Where do you see back in verses 1-13 Jesus told them a parable?  You see a parable anywhere in there? There isn’t one. Peter thought he was speaking figuratively in a parable and He wasn’t. It’s literal! It’s real! It’s really the thing inside.

“Matthew 15 goes on, Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
[18] But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
[19] For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
[20] These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

“He’s saying, ‘Don’t you see those things aren’t the problem? What’s the problem? Those things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart. They defile a man for out of the heart.’

“That passage’s the greatest statement in the Bible on the definition of human depravity.

“The problem is inherited, it’s from within and the reason that you’re a sinner is not that your mouth talks bad or your hands go do bad things; it’s because you’ve got a nature that produces that. And those things come from within you. They come naturally. You never had to have somebody teach you how to lie, did you?

“Now most every wicked thing you ever learned you learned from somebody just a little older from you, didn’t you? That’s the way the world operates. When a young man learns something wicked, he learns it from somebody just a little older than him. That’s why you have to be careful and guard your companion, and guard your associates. Because that’s the way the system operates. But you know something folks, they didn’t have to put the desire there; what they do is fine-tune your efforts a little bit, don’t they?

“By the way, that’s offensive to hear, isn’t it? In verse 12 it was offensive to the Pharisees. Do you know something folks, we live in a day where there’s one element to preaching that the average Christian can’t stand. It’s confrontational preaching. Preaching that confronts you with sin and wrong and righteousness and duty and when Paul says, ‘who we preach, warning every man,’ that word warning means to confront somebody with bad behavior with a view of changing their conduct and behavior.

“When you teach and admonish, that’s to counsel somebody with a view of changing their behavior toward what’s right and that’s an element that the human nature doesn’t want to hear. You don’t want a rebuke; the reprove.

“And the missing element in most preaching today in Bible-believing churches is that confrontational element that care-fronts you with the truth and with error and with sin and says, “That’s wrong! God forbid!’ You know who it offends? The old man. Your new man never got mad at it. He sits there and says, ‘Amen, brother! Amen!’ It’s the old man that wants to run things.

“The church at large walks in the flesh and that’s what’s you’re going to get. That’s what was happening in Matthew 15, and what you see in that passage is the nature, the basis, the reason for the opposition and rejection of Christ.

“The reason Israel rejected Christ was heart trouble. She had an evil, wicked heart of unbelief, and regardless of the testimony raised before her, she was not going to believe. That’s what the problem was. Bound by that wicked heart of unbelief.”

Head above all

Matthew 8:18-19 says,  “Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.
[19] And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest."

Jordan explains, “The man comes along and says, ‘I want to be your disciple; I want to follow you.’  This is in response to the first miracles. So He says to him in verse 20, ‘The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.’

“In other words, the issue there has to do with, ‘There’s going to be a price if you’re going to follow me. You’re not going to live in the Howard Johnson’s or the Holiday Inn. You’re not going to have a mansion. You’re not going to have a nice parsonage. You’re going to be in trouble.’

“ ‘Foxes have holes and birds have nests.’ Now that’s a literal reference, of course. But you know there’s an interesting thing about the way the Bible uses those terms.

“That term ‘fox’--you remember Christ over in Luke 13 talking about ‘Herod the old fox’? You remember over there in Luke 8?

“By the way, birds and the fowls of the air in the Bible are repeatedly used as types and pictures of demons; devils.

“When Alfred Hitchcock wrote that movie, you know, about the birds coming and all that stuff, he was playing off of some of that mythological typology that’s developed and trying to counterfeit what the Bible says about these things so you won’t believe what the Bible says when it says it; you’ll think it’s all mythology, see?

“Luke 8:4-5 says, ‘And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:
[5] A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.'

Look down at verse 11: 'Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
[12] Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.'

“What’s verse 5 say come and took it away? The birds. Who does Christ say that represents in verse 12? The devil. Write down by that verse Revelation 18:2; you’ll see the same kind of thing. The verse says, ‘And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.’

“Matthew 13 over in that parable, the fowls lodge in the branches of that tree and all that business. Same kind of thing.

“Over and over in the Bible, you’ll find birds as a picture or a type of demons, and if you apply that understanding to Matthew 8:20, He’s just warning the guy that the devil and his crowd are treated better than the Son of man and His followers.

“You see, in Israel the influence of the Adversary gained more acceptance than the influence of the Son of man.

“Come to Revelation 14 and notice that expression 'the Son of man.' It’s a messianic title—you remember in Daniel 7 we saw Christ as the Son of man come to the ancient of days and receive the kingdom? It’s as the Son of man that He receives the crown over the whole earth.

“As the son of Abraham and the son of David, He gets the land and the throne of Israel, but my friend, it’s as the son of Adam that He gets the crown over the whole of the kingdom and, as the Son of God, He gets the crown over the whole universe. So His reign extends out over the whole thing.

“Notice the comparison between the first reference to the Son of man and the last reference in Revelation 14:14: ‘And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.’

“In Matthew 8:20, the son of man doesn’t have anywhere to lay His head. An empty head with nowhere to lay it.

“In Revelation 14 His head is mentioned again, and over there it’s in the context of having a crown upon it when He comes back in judgment.

“You see the contrast there? When He came the first time His head’s empty with nowhere to lay it and if you follow Him there’s a price to be paid. When He comes back the second time, He’s going to have a crown on it. You reckon if a fellow walked in with a crown on his head he could get a place to stay? You can get a place to stay if you own the motel.

“The idea there in Matthew is there’s a price that has to be paid if you’re going to follow Christ and you’re going to have to be willing to pay it.

“Luke 14:33 says, ‘So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.’ In Matthew 19 that rich young ruler comes to Him and he wants to inherit eternal life in the kingdom, and Christ says, ‘Well, keep the commandments.’ He says, ‘I kept them all,’ and Christ says, ‘There’s one thing you lack--go sell everything you got. Get rid of the house and car and everything else and come over here with me and walk around with me, and don’t have a place to lay your head.’

“Now, He’s not literally saying He doesn’t have a place to sleep at night. I mean, He can sleep out under the stars and the canopy of the heavens and it would be just as familiar to Him as the blanket you pull over you at night is to you. That isn’t the problem.

“The idea He’s telling that young fellow that wants to follow Him is: ‘There’s a price! And the price is rejection! You come and take the cross and follow me.’ ”