He Wasn't a Nice Guy

He claimed to be the Messiah. When you make claims, you build expectations in people. It's inevitable. And you have to live up to some bible standards when you do that. You have to be this and that--well, that is as far as people's understanding of Scriptures is concerned. Their unspiritual understanding of Scriptures often make them turn bible standards into their own formulated standards. [Picture above from Alex Plesovskich @aples].

And often, people miss what Scriptures really mean, even the experts and scholars or theologians (or especially them?). Because God's Word can only be understood through the Holy Spirit, exactly the way Jesus understood them.

Matthew quotes Isaiah on the Messiah...

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 19 He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. 21 In his name the nations will put their hope. [Matthew 12]

Sounds like Mr. Nice Guy, right? So patient and tolerant. "He will not quarrel or cry out," it says. "A bruised reed he will not break." But there was Jesus, reacting violently in the temple, driving out sellers, buyers, money changers and animals with a whip and turning over tables. He actually reacted unbecoming a man of God. Though he didn't hurt anybody, you'd still call that violent if you were honest. You're a fool if you'd call that peaceful. At another time, he was even branded a glutton and drunkard, someone out of his mind and demon-possessed.

Looked like he didn't pass Isaiah's criteria.

He could've just preached against materialism and warned people who'd turn the temple into a den of robbers. I would've done so. I mean, I'd be conscious about what Isaiah said about the Messiah. To my mind, that meant being a Mr. Nice Guy. We often become conscious about standards when we claim to be somebody--like a Christian or a pastor--thinking we have to maintain quality standard, not realizing they're often adulterated bible standards corrupted by religious ideas and intentions. And then we submit ourselves to them. That's when we totally lose it.

We think the fruit of the Spirit results to a Mr. Nice Guy personality. We see gentleness, patience and kindness in the list, so we equate all that to being nice. Thus, a lot of "spiritual" Christians try their best to have nice, pleasing personalities, talking in gentle and modulated voices, sounding like poets or those doing declamation and displaying formal mannerism behind the pulpit. Always in formal attire. Very seldom getting angry (in public) and always ready with religious niceties or a bible verse.

We think that is Christ-like, and it's primarily because we blind ourselves to the fact that Jesus was not nice--NOT in the way the world defines nice. And anyway, "nice" is not among the fruit of the Spirit. Kind is, and kind is quite different from nice.

I'm irked by folks when they correct you for being honest about your emotions. I tell people when I'm pissed off or irritated by certain behaviors, actuation or even by certain people and honestly say what I feel. And they bombard me with religious advises and bible verses, readily telling me how pastors or spiritual people shouldn't be like that. I should be patient and loving and understanding and gentle. "Self control," they remind me. They think that's spiritual.

Well, did Jesus apologize for his behavior at the temple? We often do that after exhibiting some inappropriate conduct or outburst in church--things against religious norms--because we think it's part of being spiritual. Apologize. Yup, we're all susceptible to unbecoming behavior (I am)--even the most spiritual do (or especially them, I guess)--and most of us think it's wrong. We're supposed to be "civil." But civil is not fruit of the Spirit either. It's what worldly standard calls decency. Jesus was never decent. I mean, spitting on the ground and making a mud and putting it on the blind's eyes? That's decent?

The religious leaders gave him a chance to apologize. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?” I'd have probably said, "Guys, I'm so sorry about yesterday at the temple. I was just tired and stressed out. I didn't mean to do it." Church norm or pressure would make us do that. But not Jesus. He didn't apologize. He was more like arrogant than meek.

And several times, when some Pharisees invited him for dinner, he criticized everyone in the Pharisaic party (even the host) instead of being polite and tame as we would be.

See? He wasn't a Mr. Nice Guy.

And yet Jesus fulfilled every Scripture passage about the Messiah--in the way that God meant it, not as man in his own make-believe wisdom defined the Messiah in their understanding of Scriptures. This is why the bible urges us to rely solely on the Holy Spirit's revelation (we should be Jesus stalkers), not on our erudite theological guesses or speculations, no matter how high the degree. I believe Jesus intended to display a quick blast of anger (indignation actually) to demolish false expectations of what a Messiah should be. Like how he brazenly broke the Sabbath (the religious and theologians won't agree that Jesus broke the Sabbath). It was done intentionally by Jesus to drive home a point.

And anyway, what he broke was a religious standard derived from a corrupted view of the bible standard--which is what theologians do and are good at. So, John was correct when he said Jesus broke the Sabbath law (John 5.18), because he in fact did. Otherwise, John would not have written thus if it were not. And John understood this solely by what the Holy Spirit supernaturally revealed to him, not by any human theology.

You see, the passage "He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out," should be balanced with "zeal for your house consumes me."

We should understand what "consumes" means, and Jesus perfectly demonstrated it at the temple. This is why Paul also tells us to "be angry" and "sin not." Our fake spirituality has given anger a bad, bad name. We think anger is downright just evil, period, forgetting that God displays his wrath as well as his kindness. We should get angry when people (especially in church) wallow in sin or corrupt God's intentions for his Word.

Jesus "will not quarrel or cry out" if you personally attacked him, but it was a different matter if you blasphemed God and the things of God. His zeal for such would surely consume him. You could never hurt his ego because he had none. But his Sonship gives him zeal for the Father and his Kingdom. Bruised reeds and smoldering wicks he chose to have nothing to do with yet, and that's what denominations are--bruised reeds and smoldering wicks. But once the Lord "has brought justice through to victory," then bruised reeds will be broken and smoldering wicks will be snuffed out.

Why? Because zeal for God's house (the genuine house) consumes him, and he won't have second thoughts about driving out money changers from God's true temple as he did in the Gospel.

But don't get me wrong. There are church people who are nothing but spoiled brats. Period. Cranky people. I mean, they're outright ROTTEN. All they can be is sometimes be "nice" because they do not have the fruit of the Spirit. Being angry at sin, corruption and wickedness is having God's anger. And it's good. But man's anger (especially when his ego is hurt) is not.

..because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. [James 1.20]

They're nice to people who are nice to them--or those of the same church denomination as they have. Jesus wasn't like that, to be sure. He purposely didn't look nice (and demolished any ideas of him being nice) because religious people are bound to abuse nice-looking people.

Nice in God's Kingdom looks rude in this world, and meek in the Kingdom looks arrogant in this world. "To the one, we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life." (2 Corinthians 2.16)

His Miracles Promoted His Ministry

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His miracles alone promoted his ministry. But the promotion was incidental. The real intention was to help people get out of spiritual captivity. Jesus said miracles were really meant to convict people and help them repent. That was first in the agenda. Second was promotion.

"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." [Mat.11]

Don't use miracles and signs and wonders mainly to promote your ministry. Lots of ministries fall into this trap. Because miracles astound people they're easily lured to these ministries. And the latter are often tempted to squeeze out financial support from them. The support are used more to turn ministries into empires and buy properties and build mansions.

Miracles are designed to convict people of sin. It happened to Peter. Because of Jesus' miracle of abundant catch of fish, Peter realized his sin. "When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, 'Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!'" [lk. 5.7]. Isaiah felt the same when he saw the glory of God with his angels. "I'm a man of unclean lips," [Isaiah 6].

Incidentally, Jesus' miracles promoted his ministries to other places so that people from all over sought desperately for him. It was a bonus given. An add-on. He didn't focus on miracles for promotion---so more people would join him and up his membership and church income. That would've been greed. It was an evangelism tool and accreditation from God himself. It proved he had God's full backing.

Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. [Acts 2.22]

And because Jesus is 100 percent in us, we have the same full backing. We can be accredited by God with signs and wonders if we want to. Problem is, we ignore this truth and prefer to get accreditation from other sources, even mundane or secular ones. Getting local government support, for instance, is good. But it's wrong when it's all the support we look for. We even derive our confidence from it. We brag about getting the mayor's or the barangay chairman's support. Why don't we seriously get supernatural support from God?

Jesus had zero support from local authorities. In fact, they despised him. We should get a hint from this. This was not incidental---God pre-planned it to turn out this way. Why? So we'd see that what we should get is heaven's full backing---never mind about other support. Why not conduct supernatural healing missions? But these things are not planned by man. We must be led by the Holy Spirit to do them.

We cannot sit down to meet and decide to do miracles. Even if we pray for them. The thing is to be led. To be sensitive to God's leading, to sense the Lord's healing presence [Lk.5.17]. And the healing presence depends on our faith. We should have the faith of Jesus, which often we lack because of the way the modern church has become too secular. We believe more in what the world can provide us than what God can provide supernaturally.

Of course, what we find in the world are also God's provisions, but they're provision designed to be used and appreciated by those of the flesh---those whose spirits are dead and cannot recognize the spiritual unless their flesh benefits from the experience. In ministry, God provides his supernatural supplies, tools and equipment. Through ministry, spiritual provisions are given flesh in us (like the Word that was made flesh and dwelt among men) so those of the flesh can relate and understand the value system of the Spirit.

Miracles were important to Jesus as he preached the Gospel. Everywhere he went, he performed them along with preaching and teaching. And the astonished people who witnessed God's power in him went everywhere to spread the word. They came (they didn't need to be invited), desperately looking for him with their sick and those possessed by demons, and Jesus healed them ALL.

I don't know if anyone looks for pastors "desperately" these days when they're sick or diabolically pestered with stress. Even some pastors skip church when they don't feel well. In Jesus' days, the sick went out of their houses to seek Jesus. Today, even sick church folks go to hospitals to be cured and skip church.

So, how about it? Church should start being promoted as God leads it to do signs and wonders and miracles.

He Knew What They Were Thinking

Mountain Xpress

The Pharisees thought that Jesus sinned after declaring the paralytic let down from the roof forgiven. God alone could forgive sins, they reasoned to themselves. It was their secret opinion they thought would not be found out. Yet Jesus knew their thoughts—he had “heard” them so clearly as if they had shouted in his ears. Then he challenged them and proved himself right. 

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At another time, when invited for dinner, he allowed a repentant prostitute to pour costly perfume on his feet. Simon, a Pharisee, doubted in his mind if Jesus was truly a prophet, otherwise he would’ve known her to be a sinner. Again, Jesus “heard” his mind talking and debunked him.

Then they tried to trap him. The Pharisees sent their “disciples” (they also had their discipleship) with the Herodians to ask Jesus about paying Ceasar the imperial tax. And they approached him in the guise of asking his opinion because they highly regarded him.

“We know you’re a man of integrity and you teach the way of God according to truth. You aren’t swayed by others because you pay no attention to who they are.”

Wow! Such high compliment! But Jesus knew it was all flattery. We would’ve reacted differently. We would’ve loved it to even compromise our standard and say something too nice about Ceasar. Instead, Jesus told them outright: “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me?” He knew what they were thinking.

It wasn’t just mind reading or trying to guess people’s thoughts through their reactions or facial expressions. That’s what we do today. We “psychologize” people, not discern them supernaturally. In fact, we laugh at anything suggesting the spiritual gift of discernment given us by the Holy Spirit. So few in church still believe in actually using the gifts. They’d rather be smart and use the social sciences to figure out or assess people.

Best of all, Jesus knew his betrayer well beforehand. Judas wasn’t able to keep anything secret, not even his occasional theft from the ministry money bag. Jesus knew Peter would deny him thrice despite his superlative claim of total devotion---and that a rooster somewhere would crow right after. He also foretold of his deserting disciples. What really struck me was when he predicted how a man carrying a jar of water would meet Peter and John as they entered the city for the Passover preparation. The man would provide what was needed, without question, once they said the password: “The Teacher asks.”

And sure enough everything went according to his word. Did he talk to this man before and arrange things with him? Some would see it this way. I’d prefer to see it as supernatural. Jesus had shown in previous times how he knew people’s minds supernaturally. How he saw the future. It was the spiritual gift of discernment and prophecy in operation. And Jesus said, anyone who has faith in him will do the same things he did [John 14.12]. Question is, does anyone in church today still believe in this? Does anyone prophecy events or discern people supernaturally?

Nope. They’d mock the gift. They’d think you’re an idiot if you claim to seriously believe and use it. Jesus used these gifts to expose the crookedness of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, and he was labeled “judgmental” and crucified. The same label they’d use on you if you do the same today. Anybody who reveals sin uncompromisingly is labeled judgmental. All they want in church is inspire and motivate. Well, there are fakes who pretend to “prophesy” about people’s sins, but I’m not talking about that.

Unbelievers would even challenge you to prophesy things. The soldiers mocked and beat Jesus while he was blindfolded and demanded that he prophesy who did it. He didn’t. The gift is not for circus entertainment. It’s in aid of ministry, genuine ministry that comes from God. You should know what people are thinking of and not be an unsuspecting victim of the devil. Nope, don’t psychologize them; discern them supernaturally like Jesus did. He knew exactly what they were thinking.

He Very Seldom Prayed

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This will come as a shock to many (and with violent disagreement, I expect), but Jesus very seldom prayed in public. Unlike what we do today. We pray every step of the way---in public---either to show people how spiritual we are or to avoid offending the religious ones. Or maybe to avoid offending God. We open and close in prayer in bible studies, Sunday school, worship service, and preaching.

Even before each meal. What more if we have a big undertaking, like praying for miraculous healing or driving out demons. We pray a lot in public, in fact, to the extent that we often overkill. We overkill demons with warring prayers. Poor devils. We pray a lot but often show little to nothing for it. We say voluminous prayers for the sick, and they're still sick when we finish. Sometimes, they even get worse.

Jesus just said a word (a word, mind you) and everything went accordingly. Everything and everyone obeyed. No ifs or buts. And this, without praying (in public).

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We should do things as Jesus did things. Anyone who has faith in me will do what I've been doing, he said. Well, we've been doing the exact opposite. We pray a lot in public but very, very seldom (if any) spend quality and intimate time with God in private---the kind that triggers transfiguration or translation to the third heaven. The "walk with God" that raptured Enoch well ahead of time.

When Jesus delivered his famous and powerful Sermon on the Mount, he didn't open or end in prayer. Ever noticed that? And his first miracle in Cana. Did he pray for a miracle first before water turned into wine? And the ten lepers who were healed? And the blind man who received his sight after Jesus prepared a mud pie using his own saliva? The paralyzed man let down from the roof? How about the demon-possessed in Gadarenes?

Don't get me wrong. Prayer is powerful and important in ministry. Jesus prayed powerful prayers. But that's mostly in private with the Father. In public, he was very seldom showy. And he often just said short prayers when he was with people. He merely looked up and said thanks to multiply bread and fish to thousands. Nonetheless, he did pray each step of the way doing his ministry in public but was seldom seen doing it.

Once, they were trapped in a furious squall in a lake. Their boat was about to sink. His disciples urged him to wake up and do something. Probably, they wanted him to worry with them. Often, our prayers are nothing but expressions of uncertainties and worrying. But Jesus calmly stood up and rebuked the wind and waves---and they immediately stopped. Everything was calm. And this, without praying. No even a single word.

See?

There's something powerful when we don't pray---in public. Why? Because we use Jesus authority in us. Jesus prayed a lot in private, but in public he simply assumed the Father's authority in him. The Father in him did it. And CHRIST in you does it when you simply declare things. Truth is, the Father and Son are both in us (really in us)---100 percent---through the Holy Spirit in us.

And because the Spirit is in us 100 percent, we pray without ceasing---because he is the Spirit of supplication. Imagine that? The Holy Spirit of supplication himself is living in you, 100 percent. So your natural nature is to pray continuously. And this was what Jesus did. This was his secret. Aside from his long bouts with the Father in remote places (just being alone with HIM), he prayed continuously without ceasing. He was always talking with the Father, as Enoch walked with God for 300 years.

We get a glimpse of this in Jesus' short prayer:

Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.

With this short prayer (you can pray this prayer within 10 seconds) Lazarus was resurrected from the dead. Imagine? Why such powerful prayer? Because Jesus' prayer life consisted of unceasingly talking with the Father all day. He said, "Father I thank you that you have heard me." Heard him? When? The passage context shows Jesus never prayed before this. And yet, in a sense, he did---privately. While on his way to the grave site, he was praying or talking to the Father inwardly, in his spirit. And being intimate like this with the Father, he was sure the Father had answered his prayer.

So all he had to do was assume that answered prayer---the authority---and declare life to Lazarus. He didn't need to pray in public as we would, asking God to (please) resurrect him. His prayer was a thank prayer for the answer. And the rest is history. That's how we should operate in ministry. That's real ministry as Jesus did it.

What would we have done in this instance? Well, I'm sure we would've asked God to comfort the bereaved family of Lazarus---that they may accept the death of their loved one. Period. The nearest we would pray about supernatural miracle would be "Lord, provide the finances they need for the burial." And a lot more nonsense like that.

Often we overkill. We pray tons of prayers in public, opening and closing, with drama and diction and all, a majestic voice, prosing on theological principles, and with a bunch of so-called "prayer warriors" behind us shouting prayers like crazy---and produce nothing.

Jesus was different. After praying alone on the mountainside one night, Jesus decided to walk on water to catch up with the disciples on the boat. When he got there, Peter wanted to walk on water, too. Jesus simply said, "Come." He didn't say, "Let's pray first." And Peter, indeed walked on water before sinking due to loss of faith.

I heard one pastor pray for food during lunch. And he went on describing how the food would enter the esophagus and land on the stomach and undergo digestive processes to filter out nutrients which would be distributed to the body for health and strength. WOW! Didn't God know all that, that this pastor had to tell him what should happen?

We should seldom pray in public, but pray nonstop in private.

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others (in public). Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

He Kept Company with Waiters in a Wedding

Washington Post

Turning water into wine was awesome, to say the least. I saw for myself how the servers had taken plain water from the jars (I often "see" bible events right before my eyes when I meditate God's Word). Yup, just plain water. It didn't turn into wine instantly in the jars. But when the servers (or waiters) took Jesus at his word and served the water to the wedding guests, somewhere along the way it turned into wine.

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The same way the 10 lepers were still leprous when Jesus told them to present themselves to the priests. But they took Jesus' word for it and went. And as they went, they were healed, the Scriptures say. That radical do-or-die act of faith can throw entire mountains into the sea with a word. Really awesome.

But it's not just the water to wine miracle I'm astonished about. It's how my Jesus preferred the company of the waiters during this wedding. He was an invited guest and should have sat at one of the tables for the guests. Or perhaps, even at the presidential table, if there was one. But nope, he preferred to stay in the kitchen with the waiters and cooks.

Here's how the affair went:

When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

We see Jesus and Mary clearly in the company of the waiters here. They could not have done this conversation right amid the wedding area but somewhere in the kitchen, specifically where the stone jars of water were kept. Another thing, when Jesus had answered his mother, "My hour has not yet come," Mary was immediately in the company of the waiters saying, "Do whatever he tells you." 

So, putting two and two together, you easily see they were in the kitchen, or some room or area for similar use. Jesus was comfortable to stay in the backdrop or even behind the scene. At once I remembered preachers who wanted to be "properly introduced" in church, their accomplishments are not to be belittled but enumerated.

Though Jesus was sociable and invited to important social functions, he stayed low profile. He preferred to be with servants or simple folks---like waiters, tax collectors and sinners. I'm so impressed that when the master of the banquet tasted the superb wine quality and wondered where it came from, Jesus just kept silent. He just did a major accomplishment and he preferred to stay out of the limelight. Can we do the same?

In fact, even the bridegroom, whom the banquet master called aside, hadn't the faintest idea where the choice wine came from. I bet the top religious leaders were aching to claim the glory for themselves, and they'd do that if they were indeed responsible. They'd never let an opportunity like that just pass them by.

All these were written not as a mere incidental thing. Jesus wants his readers to get something Kingdomly important here. In fact, the topmost thing in the Kingdom values system. The least is the greatest. So stay least.

He Touched Grime and Dirt Then Ate Without Washing His Hands

The Oral Cancer Foundation.

Ever seen a food scavenger? He digs through trash looking for discarded food. When he finds one, it's like a big jackpot. He eats it with delight using unwashed hands he had used to dig through grime and dirt and heaps of garbage. He also brings some to his family. Disgusting, isn't it?

No wonder the religious leaders were disgusted at Jesus. He touched the tongues and ears of people with bare hands---and we don't know if those folks had brushed their teeth, gargled a mouthwash or cleaned their ears. They probably didn't. And even if they did, it'd be repulsive to touch them hands-on just the same. Unless he wore gloves, which he didn't. He touched the sick and the lepers, too. I can imagine he even touched open woulds to heal them.

Then he ate without washing his hands.

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Yup, at one time the Pharisees noticed how he ate without first washing his hands. This was big deal to them because of their religion---and to most of us today because of hygiene. I often bring a small bottle of 70 percent solution isopropyl alcohol in my belt bag and often use it after shaking hands with people. Bacterial or viral contamination is a reality.

Imagine shaking hands with lots of people, grabbing hand supports or handles in public buses and jeeps which multitudes of people have also grabbed onto, handling money---and then eating your meal without washing your hands. What more if you touched people's tongues, mouths, ears and wounds?

But Jesus knew how his manner of healing offended both religion and hygiene. He should at least wash his hands after. Why didn't he? And he's in the habit of doing things on purpose. I'm sure, he had a reason why he displayed the nasty habit. And I'm quite sure, too, it was not to promote dirty living or poor sanitation.

At one time, he spit on the ground and made mud of it. Then he splattered it on the eyes of the blind. I'm sure the blind man had heard him spit saliva on the ground, and I believe he had a good idea what it was that Jesus put on his eyes when he felt the wet, sticky mud. But he just let him. Was all this necessary for the healing? Couldn't Jesus simply pray over the blindness or declare healing?

Worse, at another time, he just plain spit on the eyes of the blind.

He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?" [Mk. 8.23]

Well, at least this time he did it outside the village where no one could see him. Sometimes, I try to imagine myself doing this. Would it work? Would the blind see? Is it a healing formula? What would people think of me and my ministry? Why would Jesus heal this way? Why is it recorded in the bible for all generations of believers to read? There is a purpose in all this. This is not just accidental.

I'm sure Jesus knew well the implications of his actions on his person and ministry. On his dignity. On his claims for God. Didn't he realize how his messiness would affect his name and ministry---and his church eventually? I'm sure he did. But he did it anyway. In fact, I can imagine how he thought it would do his name and ministry lots of good! It would be best for God's glory that he spit and made a mess of people's sickness and touched grime and dirt and then ate with unwashed hands in plain sight of the Pharisees.

If so, then why wouldn't churches today do this?

As I stalked behind Jesus and watched his unorthodox ways, I remembered Ezekiel and how God told him to cook his food on burning human poop. Now, why would God tell him that? And how God told Peter to kill and eat unclean animals in a huge blanket being lowered from heaven. Well, just now, as I'm writing this article, I remember how Jesus made his 12 disciples drink from the same cup during the last supper. According to Matthew, this was what Jesus said:

Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you..."

It didn't say Jesus gave a cup to each of them. There was one cup and they all were to drink from it. Can you imagine that? I tried to do this once but I had to stop it because I pitied the last guy to drink from the cup. Imagine 11 guys drinking from the same cup and leaving their saliva there. And then you're the last to sip. I don't care if they all brushed their teeth and gargled Listerine. But what if they didn't?

I was pondering on this when this thought came:

When God says it, then it's the most decent thing to do, even if the world thinks it isn't. Remember, Jesus said he couldn't do anything except what he heard from the Father or what he saw the Father himself was doing. Jesus knew God's Word or Scriptures (the Old Testament) well and yet he also relied on what he saw and heard direct from the Father. We should operate likewise. We should hear straight from God and "see" him, aside from relying on his Word in the bible.

See this promise:

Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. [Jn 14.21]

Jesus promises to "show himself" to the one who is deep in God's Word. He will let us "see" him. We must hear and see God. And once we do, we will see the strange acts of God as Moses and the prophets and patriarchs saw them. Jesus himself saw them and obediently did accordingly---touching people's tongues and ears, spitting and making mud and touching the sick. And then eating with unwashed hands. Or breaking the Sabbath law or some treasured religious tradition.

It's not a formula. You shouldn't go out there and spit at the blind and touch the tongues of the mute or demolish religious rituals or traditions. Make sure first that you heard from God or saw God showing you what to do. And make sure you are deep in the Word---meditating it day and night and living it out daily.

When finally you hear God and see him, then make sure you obey, no matter if it looks weird, stupid or indecent to people. No matter if it offends people's religions---even born-again religion.

He was Totally Sold Out to the Father

Luke 4 says Jesus was filled with the Spirit after being baptized in Jordan and then the Spirit led him to the wilderness to be tempted. I was stalking behind him as he walked then he suddenly stopped and turned to me. He stared, as if knowing that I had a pressing concern. [Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay].

"What do you mean by being filled with the Spirit?" I asked.

He smiled and touched me, and then gestured to follow him. Then a thought came---"it's being totally sold out," a small voice said in my mind. After a moment, another word came: "Totally surrendered." Did that mean I had to be a perfect follower? Nope. You can fail a lot, do things wrong, and yet be totally surrendered in the eyes of God. Peter and Barnabas did wrong and yet were filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul and Barnabas quarreled.

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God's Spirit indwelt them. He (the Spirit) never left them just because they were wrong. Nor was the Spirit decreased in measure in them just because they failed. God's Spirit still dwelt in them 100 percent. So, they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Grace makes all that possible. You cannot be 80 percent "filled," mind you, or have the Spirit of God just partially. You're either filled or not.

David did wrong and yet we never read that the Spirit departed from him as the Spirit did from King Saul. It's a different story if you're not totally surrendered. You cannot be lukewarm and claim to be filled. "Filled" doesn't mean perfect. It means totally surrendered. You allow God total free rein to unmold and mold you. Your free will never gets in the way.

These thoughts were in my mind as I followed Jesus to the wilderness. You could see how willing he was to be led there and be tempted by the devil. "Totally sold out" was written all over his face. Being filled made this possible---willing to be degraded, insulted and made fun of by a lesser individual and not retaliate with his divine power, without second thoughts. And surviving the ordeal required nothing less. Then the Word came to me: "If Jesus needed infilling before doing any ministry, how much more human servants?"

Jesus sat where piles of stones were scattered on the desert floor. He was obviously tired and hungry after 40 days of fasting. I knew the devil would appear any time then, but Jesus stared at me before the devil could make an appearance. Then this thought came: "In fact, before doing any ministry for God, you need to defeat the devil in the wilderness."

People pray to be anywhere except the wilderness, but it's in the wilderness where defeating Satan is most strategic. God watches you more when you're in the wilderness---he watches how you forfeit yourself of your rights and privileges there. He watches how you starve your ego. If your ego dies, you defeat Satan. If you defeat Satan in the wilderness, you'll make it anywhere.

If not, don't attempt any ministry. Defeating the devil is what really counts in ministry, not numerical results or achievements. A semblance of success while spiritually succumbing to the devil is zero in the Kingdom.

Hearing this Word in my spirit, I stared back at the Lord. He nodded in agreement. Then the tempter came. We know the rest of the story.

Nothing Mattered to Him But the Kingdom

Nothing was important to Jesus but the Kingdom of God---particularly, how to set it up on earth. First, he did nothing but show his disciples, and people around him, what the Kingdom was like. And then he taught them hints how to make the Kingdom work in their lives. This should be a vital part of our evangelism and discipleship---showing them the King, his kingdom and how to live there NOW! [Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay].

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There were other pressing matters then, for sure. Like Rome's occupation of Israel, corruption in government, poverty, injustice, human rights abuse, rebellion, hunger, etc. But he didn't come for those things, although God cared for these issues, too. But they were nothing compared to putting up God's Kingdom and rule on earth---because the Kingdom had to do with true LIFE.

And LIFE is the answer for everything. It's the ultimate remedy for man's soul, needs and aspirations.

It saddens me how majority of Christians worldwide don't have a clue what the Kingdom is. After receiving Jesus, they are taught how to operate in their local church. They are taught the ways and policies of their church denominations. And that's all they'd know the rest of their lives on earth. They even equate the Kingdom to their denominations. But they are worlds apart, really.

Just look at what Jesus did in ministry and compare that with what denominations are doing today. There's not even a hint of Jesus in denominations. You see more a Jesus that has been adjusted to fit in the world than THE JESUS who declared he was not of this world. I mean, all his ways were spiritual and supernatural---nothing this world can duplicate. Like, he fed multitudes with a few bread and fish multiplied by an astounding miraculous power while we'd do the same by soliciting money or stubbornly asking for donations, often even from unwilling non-believers.

See the big difference?

Jesus came to represent the Kingdom---show us what it's really like---and show us how to be part of it. Not to be part of it is spiritual damnation forever. And to be part of it we need no less than deep and thorough repentance and total surrender to him. TOTAL. You lose your rights and privileges and become like Jesus---he emptied himself and took the form of a servant. To him, that's the real meaning of life. He came that we may have life, and it's all about Kingdom life on earth as it is in heaven. Kingdom life is true ministry---the rest is garbage. Church programs, activities, concerts, gimmicks, and what-have-you are all trash.

In fact, Sunday worship services are garbage without this Kingdom life.

Here's Kingdom life as he showed it in his life---hearing direct from the Father and doing only what the Father speaks. Staying meek, simple and low-profile and letting God run your life and ministry. Instant healing becomes the normal way of dealing with diseases. A simple, short prayer produces instant miracles---like multiplying scant food supply, transfiguring and transporting you to heaven during prayers or talking with saints as Jesus did with Moses and Elijah or even throwing entire mountains into the sea with supernatural power. Driving out demons "with a word," resurrecting the dead, or controlling nature with a mere command or rebuke. That's Kingdom life. That's the LIFE he came to give us, and which he wants us to have abundantly.

It's not just salvation of our souls.

When he declared he was LIFE and we receive him into our lives, we automatically get that life---HIS LIFE. His life automatically produces these wonders. It should. It should not diminish in any way once his life gets inside of us. The same LIFE of Jesus is in us now! And that life should produce the same things. "Very truly, he who has faith in me will do the same things---and greater things shall he do..."

Kingdom life is not just about salvation. It's that plus more. Jesus came to propagate God's Life (make disciples of all nations) and this builds the Kingdom of God on earth---God's own family on earth, all of us having his spiritual DNA. Any effort at evangelism or church planting that ignores this truth is garbage. You're not building God's Kingdom; you are just building your denominational empire.

We should take Jesus' Kingdom LIFE seriously and do nothing but this in church. It's his genuine ministry. And Jesus wants us to do nothing else. "Anyone who has faith in me will do the same things I'm doing---and greater works shall he do because I go to the Father."

This is what the church should be busy with, especially in these last days---not be busy with silly church programs, activities, entertainment and gimmicks.

He Discouraged People from Following Him

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Jesus actually discouraged some people from following him. I don't know if the church has considered this, but it will blow her mind away. Yes, Jesus taught us how following him was crucial. He stressed to one guy that, "If you want to be perfect, sell your possessions and give to the poor and come follow me." Following him is vital to perfection.

Yet, he told the demon possessed man he healed at Gadarenes to just go home and testify to his townsfolk about the Lord instead of following him. He also told a teacher of the law how foxes had holes and birds had nest but the Son of Man had no place to lay his head on. It's not going to be easy, he said in effect, so you better just stay. And you know what he told Nicodemus, of course.

Imagine telling a Sanhedrin member, "You're Israel's teacher and you don't know what this means?" It was an insult. If I were him, I'd probably be very careful not to offend a Pharisee of good standing like Nicodemus. I'd do everything to make him stay and have him a member of my church. I mean, a Sanhedrin guy? How can you let go a guy like that?

And a teacher of the law who had expressed willingness to "follow you wherever you go." How could Jesus dissuade all these people? Didn't he want people to join him?

And yet Jesus is the Way. He demonstrated God's way---the proper way to do ministry. And the church should re-think its tendency to please people and go after them just to get more members in. We'd do anything just to have people come to our church---and we think it's good churchmanship. Some pastors will even do circus stunts just to have people stay and come back next Sunday. But Jesus did differently.

Remember the royal official who asked Jesus to heal his dying son? Remember what Jesus told him? “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” If a "royal official" comes to us for help, we'd probably be too accommodating and say nothing but kind words to make sure the guy likes us. But not Jesus.

This royal official "went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death," but here's how Jesus responded: “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” I mean, the guy "begged" Jesus (and he was a "royal official"), and yet Jesus didn't go. He just told the guy to go home. How can you not go when someone begs you, and he's a big-time official? If a royal official "begged" me to go with him, I'd probably be obligated to go, even feel honored. But not Jesus.

What is he showing us?

It's the Kingdom principle of the element of pursuit and element of disinterest. Jesus teaches us not to be too accommodating or obliging just to please people. There should be an element of pursuit on their part and element of disinterest on our part, especially if we are pastors. Jesus was fond of saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." This statement embodies these two Kingdom principles---which pastors and the church have never learned fully well.

Today, we tend to please and pursue after people. And we urge pastors to do likewise.

Jesus loved people to be saved and be like him, but he never pursued them. A lot of his disciples left him after he taught them about eating his flesh and drinking his blood (and that his flesh was real food and his blood was real drink). But he didn't lift a finger to try to win them back. He simply let them---he opened the door widely for their easy exit, so to say.

Like Jesus, we should balance well between loving souls and letting them be. Wisdom from the Holy Spirit will achieve this.

The church---especially pastors---should learn from this Kingdom principle. It will make sure the church is being built according to God's pattern and design and pass his standard of quality. Otherwise, we just build churches of men and women who are full of conceit.

They Found the Messiah

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Naturally, you consult the Scriptures to verify anything on faith. God's Word in the bible is the final say on God and His Kingdom. Andrew and his friends did that, I'm sure. They regularly consulted the Old Testament. Plus, their discipler, John the Baptist, had told them how Jesus was the Lamb of God. 

But Jesus didn't look Messiah material. Majority of folks in Israel then believed the Christ or Messiah was going to be a big shot, perhaps in the category of Herod or Pilate---or at least Nicodemus. Even to this day, most Jews reject him as the Messiah. And some mindless "Christians" are joining them in this quest for some other Christ other than Jesus. So, how did Andrew and company ascertain that Jesus was the Christ?

Your Private Life

Andrew and company followed him around. They were Jesus stalkers, as it were, as I am. Then, Jesus turned around and confronted them: "What do you want?" he asked. It was obvious they wanted something from him, and it wasn't his money. Jesus looked poor. You saw that at a glance. So what did they want from him? 

"Teacher, where are you staying?" they asked. 

It struck me that they didn't ask, "Prove from Scripture that you are the Christ." We'd ask for bible references to prove or establish that what we're doing is correct, sound doctrine. We're particular about that,a nd rightly so. But Andrew and company wanted to know where Jesus lived. 

The experts in the law---Pharisees and law teachers---would've also demanded him to prove from Scriptures his claim to Messiahship--or at least John's claim that Jesus was the Lamb of God. That was important then, it's important today, too. Everything should be bible-based. I would have asked for Scriptural backup if I were there. But I'm just a spiritual Jesus stalker moving in the realms of the spirit, not history. But it seemed that Andrew and company thought otherwise. They believed seeing where Jesus stayed mattered more than Scripture references.

I repeat, don't get me wrong. Scripture backing is important to establish anything on faith. But I'm curious why Andrew and company wanted something else. They wanted to see where he lived---not just his address but where he lived---and perhaps how he lived. I don't blame them. I can understand why. Sound doctrines are good, but life, character and supernatural power are most important in the Kingdom. Andrew and company seemed to understand that. So they had to see where (and how) Jesus lived. What was his lifestyle?

It's not how you are in church but how you are at home.

The Pharisees and law teachers could backup their faith with tons of Scripture references and they looked good in the synagogue and the temple grounds (especially with their priestly attires and robes)  but their lives and characters were often rotten. As Jesus later would comment, they were nothing but whitewashed tombs. Hypocrites. They could engage anyone in debates on Scriptures and prove or disprove anything accordingly. But Andrew and company were tired of all of them. Andrew was tired of religious titles, degrees, schooling, masters, doctorates, etc. because they really amounted to nothing. Zero. Nada. Pfft.

In HIM was Life

So he and his friends started looking for LIFE. They wanted to see where he was staying and how he lived there. Jesus was game. "Come and see," he readily replied. In effect, he said come and see LIFE, and this life is the light of men. The light of men is not Scripture per se or expertise on it, but how Scripture is lived out in daily life. How the Word became flesh and dwelt among men.

So they went. They saw with their own eyes where Jesus lived. They probably saw the radical simplicity of his home, a few furnishing and stuffs around there, nothing special, everything just within basic needs. I remember what was provided for Elisha by a wealthy couple---just a bed, a table and a lamp. That's all true prophets need. That's what genuine men of God need. Nothing more, nothing less.

Others need mansions, big church structures, posh vehicles, trophies on shelves and diplomas and certificates on the wall. Everything to prove their worth.

A bed for sleeping and a table and lamp for meditating God's Word. I believe these were all that they also found in Jesus' bachelor's flat. Plus, they spent the day with him, noting his lifestyle and the things he said naturally when in the comforts of his home. You usually act naturally at home, even with guests, compared to how you act when in public---more so when in front a camera. Cameras can change rotten characters into good ones.

They noted especially how he talked. They must have heard a lot of rumors about Jesus, but finally hearing him in person eliminated false appraisals. Andrew and co. didn't measure Jesus by his material possessions or societal or religious positions or his titles or degrees. They measured him by his life. They finally decided, yup, he was the Messiah.

They spread the word around: "We have found the Messiah." It was something that wasn't revealed or taught to them by men, but by God himself.

He Could've Been Ceasar's Son

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Didn't he target the whole world? Then Jesus should've been the Roman emperor's son. That way he would have tremendous influence worldwide and command attention from all over. The Gospel would have been spread faster and wider, the kind that Ceasar Augustus did when he ordered the whole Roman world to submit to a census.

As Ceasar's son he could easily issue a similar decree---everyone must gather at the palace in Rome and listen to Jesus preach. Everyone! Or suffer the consequences. Entire nations would have turned Christians in no time. His mission would have achieved unprecedented quick success. So, why didn't Jesus do it that way?

Or, he could've at least been Pilate's or Herod's son.

And isn't this what churches today want, the very reason why a lot of pastors try to attach themselves to politicians or influential folks in government (or become politicians themselves), because they believe they could easily influence people this way and hasten evangelism? Exactly why they urge us to use what resources or means are made available to us "by God," resources like politicians who are mostly known to be corrupt.

I've seen church leaders commend pastors who manage to work out close connections with such politicians, thinking these ministers are something else. "They're so effective!" Okay, but why didn't Jesus do it that way, though he had all the power to do it thus? Why choose to be the son of a poor carpenter, from a poor family, from a poor town and from a small country---and far away from all the politicians, the rich and top religious leaders?

It was they who went to Jesus and insisted themselves on him.

During his birth, only shepherds were invited, the lowest type of workers that time. Well, when he was about 2, some wise men from the east were also invited, but they were pagans. And from the looks of it, they were even astrologers. Then in ministry, he chose mostly fishermen, one was a rebel zealot, another was a tax collector. Why didn't he just get Herod's officials or Pilate's generals?

Then his ministry partner was his cousin John who, for some reason, refused to be priest like his father Zechariah was (priests were well off because all their needs were lavishly provided for by the people. It was a must) and preferred to live in the wilderness, wear camel's hair and leather belt, and eat nothing but insects and wild honey. Why not partner with Pharisees and law teachers instead?

Or at least he should've convinced John to become priest so they could have greater influence in the Sanhedrin and the priesthood and make evangelism easier and more powerful.

And why did Jesus have to break some laws that irritated the religious leaders? Did he really have to break the Sabbath? Was it not possible to do his ministry in the 6 days before Sabbath, as one Pharisee had suggested? Even if someone was at the point of death on a Sabbath, he could always delay it a while (to skip Sabbath) and do the miracle the day after---like what he did with Lazarus when his rescue came 3 days after Lazarus died.

There were lots of things Jesus could have done to make everything simpler and less troublesome. Less annoying so that everybody could've been be happy. But he didn't. Didn't he and the Father and Spirit carefully plan these things well in advance? Then how come the outcome was like that---he was hated by the religious leaders, hated by the people, and abandoned by his own disciples. In the end, he was nailed to the cross, shouting dismally about why God abandoned him. What a failure. He and his message were rejected. It seemed that only the pagan wise men embraced his kingship, in addition to his women disciples and John the beloved.

Why did everything go wrong?

But did it? Actually, everything went as planned. It was how the Trinity had planned everything, exactly to the letter and dot. They had planned defeat---well, seeming defeat, that is. Because in the Kingdom, triumph takes the form of defeat. Of death. In other words, the world sees defeat what the Kingdom sees as success. It's derived from how the least is the greatest---a Kingdom principle the church has yet to learn to this day. The church is ever a slow learner. It barely copes with Kingdom movement and culture. Everyone still wants to be great and they think being the greatest is success.

Defeat is success in the Kingdom. When the world is mocking you, belittling your works, treating you as trash and deeming you a total failure, you're winning. It's the complete opposite if the world is congratulating you. And that's what the church craves for today---the world's recognition and approval. If they can have their way, I bet they'd prefer being born Ceasar's son than Joseph's, and born in Rome than in Bethlehem. You can tell it by their avid preference for big, moneyed and peopled churches and distaste for small ones.

They think big is success and small is failure. So they go mindlessly and blindly for anything big. They'd give everything just to be big---or the biggest.

But Jesus preferred doing things in the Father's way---the least is the greatest. Seeds ought to fall and die to multiply. No church today wants to fall and die. They all want to save their lives, losing it in the process. That's Kingdom principle. God wants big numbers, but he wants them produced in least of ways. Losing everything. You try to save yours, you really screw everything, though the world may congratulate you.