Called to Prophesy

January 31, 2021 Background Scripture: Luke 2:36 – 38; Acts 1:12 – 14; 2:16 – 21; 21:8 – 9 Lesson Passage: Luke 2:36 – 38; Acts 2:16 – 21; 21:8 – 9 There are times when we should distinguish between prophesying and proclaiming. When the scriptures speak of prophets and prophetesses, they are typically presented as those who spoke revelations from God. Proclaimers are often depicted as those who speak what God has already spoken—especially through the prophets. It is worth noting that the Background Scripture present prophets and prophetesses—i.e., men and women who were called to speak words of revelation from God. Those who are called to prophesy can only do so by accurately discerning the voice of God. Prophecy often carries a dual meaning. It carries a message for the original recipients that was clearly understood, and it made sense to them. The message applied to their time and circumstances. The prophetic word also carried a timeless message that would speak truth to generations to come beyond the original recipients. The circumstances of the original recipients bear no effect on the meaning of the message for future recipients. Those who are called to prophesy cannot get bogged down by either message. They speak the word of God as He gives it to them. The recipients are to take heed to what is spoken. Whether one received the message directly from a prophet or prophetess, or whether one heard the message later, the word of God is timeless and speaks to the hearer. Any calling of God on a person’s life is extremely significant. The call to prophesy carries an extra burden. There is no room for error. One must clearly hear the voice of God, and one must clearly speak in the hearing of others what was heard. This must be done without adding or subtracting anything from the message. Like a mailman, it is not necessary to know what is in the envelope to deliver it. Nor is it necessary to know who inside the residence is the intended recipient. Once the message is delivered, the assignment has been completed in many cases. However, in some cases, the prophets were asked to demonstrate or live out the message as well as proclaim it. This is another reason one should not take it upon themselves to step into the prophetic office without God inviting you in. There is another point to be made from the Background Scripture. God calls whomever He wants to call. On the day of Pentecost, Peter reminded the crowd about the prophecy spoken by Joel. God promised to: “pour out of His Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.” This should answer the gender question that some have wrestled with over the years. People don’t call people to preach; and neither do people get the privilege of approving or disapproving of someone’s preaching. God anoints and God appoints whomever He chooses. We should exercise caution whenever someone purports to declare the word of God. If we reject the messenger, we will in essence reject the message as well. On the other hand, we are admonished to try the spirits to be sure they are of God. I don’t know if there is any true revelation knowledge being spoken today. What is heard may be a revelation to the hearer, but it may already be recorded and spoken of in the bible. Today, God chooses to speak to the world through those He has anointed to be His mouthpiece. They are called to prophesy Robert C. Hudson December 7, 2020

Called for the World’s Belief

January 24, 2021 Background Scripture: John 17:14 – 24 Lesson Passage: John 17:14 – 24 Today’s scripture is an excerpt from a prayer of Jesus. This prayer is often referred to as Jesus’ High Priestly prayer. Chapter 17 is dedicated solely to this prayer. In it, Jesus prayed for himself, his disciples, and for all believers. That last part is important for Christians today. Jesus petitioned God for everyone who believed in him as a result of the witness of his disciples. A Christian never needs to worry whether Jesus prays for them or if he has ever prayed for them. Here in John 17, they can read the words Jesus spoke in praying to God on behalf of Christians today. Jesus’ prayer reiterated much of what he taught during his earthly ministry. Jesus’ ministry was intended to affect mankind positively throughout history until the end of time. Jesus did not come to earth to call eleven faithful disciples and win a few converts to eternal salvation. Jesus’ ministry was the beginning of a movement of reconciliation. Jesus came that mankind would have the opportunity to be reconciled to God. We are challenged in trying to accept that the gift of salvation is only an offer until one accepts it. For a person to be created in the image of likeness of God, there is the need for that person to be a free moral agent. Simply put, a human needs the power of choice if they are to reflect God’s image and likeness. The gift of salvation does not take that away from people. Lower animals are driven by instinct not individual will. A cat is a cat, and a dog is a dog, but they can be trained to behave otherwise. A cat or dog does not wake up one day and decide to behave differently. They have no will and therefore they are not free moral agents. Human beings can continuously remake themselves into whatever their minds can conceive. However, this is restricted to earthly life and living. Sin created a chasm between mankind and God. It is impossible for mankind to cross the gap that separates us from God. Therefore, God, in Christ, crossed the gap to reach mankind and built a bridge to Himself. This bridge is only accessible through faith, or belief, in the offer of salvation that is extended by Jesus. That’s why eternal salvation in the presence of God is only achieved through the individual’s personal belief in the saving power of Jesus Christ. To be saved any other way reduces humanity to the same level as cats and dogs. God, in what appeared to be spiritual frustration, declared to Moses: “But truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” This would be a fulfillment of God’s intention in creating mankind: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion … over all the earth”. Mankind was created to be a physical reflection of God in the physical world God created. When God looks upon His physical creation, He intends to see a physical reflection of Himself in mankind. Sin corrupts and distorts the image of God in mankind. Therefore, when God looks upon His creation, He does not see a physical reflection of His glory. Jesus came to restore holiness in mankind so we can properly reflect God’s glory. All that does not reflect the glory of God will be destroyed at the end of time. Our personal belief in Jesus, that resulted from the witness of his disciples, allows us to become part of the reflection of God’s glory. Jesus was called to come into the world to establish and put in motion the movement to extend eternal salvation to mankind. The world can receive eternal salvation when the world believes the witness of Jesus’ disciples. Robert C. Hudson December 7, 2020

Called in Authority

January 17, 2021 Background Scripture: Mark 2:1 – 12 Lesson Passage: Mark 2:1 – 12 “We never saw anything like this.” That’s the statement made at the end of today’s passage of scripture. This was quickly becoming the sentiment of many who witnessed the teaching and miracles of Jesus throughout Galilee. Wherever Jesus showed up a crowd would gather. Everyone did not come for the same reason. Some came to hear and to seek understanding about practical religious matters. Some came seeking a physical miracle for themselves or others. Some skeptics came in the hopes of exposing Jesus as a phony. Perhaps many were there out of curiosity because others were there. Whatever the reason that caused people to be attracted to Jesus, it seems as though they were amazed at his larger-than-life reputation. Indeed, Jesus was their rock star, or idol. It appears Jesus kept doing the unexpected. Some things Jesus said were spoken so plainly that the simple uneducated masses could easily comprehend his teaching. Jesus did not talk over their heads; he talked to them. The setting described by the lesson passage was inside someone’s house in Capernaum. The house was filled—including the doorway and windows. The crowd was gathered around Jesus. Five men arrived too late to be a part of the audience. One was paraplegic and was carried by the other four. They went on top of the house and removed some tiling. This would have undoubtedly been distracting to Jesus and those in the house with him. The four men let down the cot into the house. The bible says Jesus took note of the faith of the four men. What did Jesus see? Jesus saw four men determined to get someone in his presence who could never have gotten there on his own. They overcame the crowd and obstacles to do so. The bible does not record why the four men did what they did. Jesus’ response makes it evident that the four men believed the paraplegic could be helped by Jesus in some fashion. Jesus addressed the paraplegic and told him that his sins were forgiven. I am not certain that is the outcome the four men were seeking, but Jesus' statement stirred up some Jewish religious teachers who condemned it as blasphemy. They were versed enough in the Holy Scriptures to know that only God has the authority to forgive sins. They reasoned this in their hearts. How could one who was doing such great miracles blaspheme God at the same time? Their discomfort did not go unnoticed by Jesus. He addressed it by demonstrating to them the level of authority he was given to forgive sins on earth. Jesus told the paraplegic to get up, pick up his cot, and go to his house. At once, the paraplegic arose, took the cot, and walked out of their presence. Jesus demonstrated to them that it was just as easy for him to make one statement as it was for him to make the other relative to the paraplegic. Both statements required Jesus to have God’s authority on earth. Jesus was totally committed to the will and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Everything they were able to witness Jesus teaching or doing was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s guidance and approval. Jesus made both statements because they could see the immediate results of one, but they needed to believe the immediate results of the other. Healing the paraplegic benefitted him but receiving the forgiveness of sins benefits all who accepts it. The physical healing was temporary in that it would only last the rest of the paraplegic’s natural life. The forgiveness of sins would last throughout eternity. Even today, the power to heal and the power to forgive sins are still available from Jesus because he was called in authority. Robert C. Hudson December 5, 2020

Called to Follow

January 10, 2021 Background Scripture: Luke 5:1 – 11 Lesson Passage: Luke 5:1 – 11 It is always a great study to spend time reading, researching, and meditating on the writing of Luke—whether it is the Gospel of Luke or the Acts of the Apostles. Luke adds a dimension of details that can be quite thought provoking. As a physician, details would have been very important to him. Since the intended recipient of his writings bore a Greek name, it is assumed that Luke tried diligently to ensure that a Gentile would be able to comprehend what had taken place as a result of Jewish-led ministries. Today’s text is written after Jesus’ visit to Peter’s house. Matthew and Mark indicated that this took place after the initial calling of Simon, Andrew, John and James. It should also be noted that Luke indicated that Peter called Jesus Master, or Teacher. This seems to be an indicator that Peter was already a disciple who had previously been called by Jesus to follow him. Given this, we should not confuse today’s text with the initial calling of the first four disciples. Otherwise, we would be tempted to think that witnessing one miracle of Jesus was enough to convince them to leave their occupation and spend the next three years following Jesus. Instead, we should see the opposite. Those men were not much different from us today. Jesus had to tell them several times to follow him and become fishers of men. We can look at today’s text as a reminder of their previous calling to follow Jesus. The initial enthusiasm of a new ministry can evaporate quickly. The miracle in the text is the kind that would have been needed by Simon, James, and John. They were all fishermen by trade. Furthermore, James and John were part of the business with their father, Zebedee. None of them were likely to leave their occupation to follow a stranger just because he seemed different. These men had fished all night long unsuccessfully and called it a day. They were now washing their nets in preparation for their next fishing expedition. The silt and trash in the water would have made the nets easier for fish to see and avoid. It would also lead to the nets deteriorating quicker. (That’s why they washed the nets after fishing with them.) When Jesus asked them to put the nets back in the water, this was not a simple request from their perspective. They had fished all night long and now they have washed their nets. Therefore, Peter objected to it. They were professional fishermen and Jesus was the son of a carpenter. Their professional opinion at this point is that this is not a good day to fish. However, because there was already a relationship of respect between Jesus and these men, Peter was willing to compromise and put one of the nets back in the water, but not all the nets. That one net caught so many fish that it was on the verge of breaking. Peter had to call for backup from the others to get the large haul of fish in the boats. Both boats were filled to the point of almost sinking. Peter discerned that the carpenter’s son was no ordinary man. Peter knew he was in the presence of spiritual greatness and he was convicted by it. Jesus allayed his feelings by telling him to not be afraid. Then, Jesus reminded them of their previous calling, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” This was not their first call to follow Jesus, and neither was it going to be their last. Until a person’s faith increases, answering the call to follow will always be challenging. We will look for ways to balance the calling with our “normal” life. The urgency of their calling was that the New Testament church was dependent on them answering the call. These men were going to lay the foundation for the Christian faith based on their tutelage under Jesus. They clearly struggled with releasing the familiar life they were living to walk in a calling that was strange to them. Today, we study this and are grateful they answered the call to follow. Robert C. Hudson December 2, 2020