Mark 2:13-28
1 Corinthians 9:19-27
Spiritually hear heavenly callings is what most true believers are doing,
but unfortunately others fail to do, even those who go to church and say
they believe, for they are being pulled away by worldly pressures.
Unless we are truly willing to reject the ways of this corrupt world, and
repent of our worldly lifestyle, we will not spiritually hear heavenly
callings, or maybe it is more accurate to say that they don’t spiritually
respond because they aren’t willing to leave their worldly lifestyles.
And this is why God’s beautiful creation has remained so corrupted with all
its violence, pain, suffering, bloodshed, and death for many millennia.
It is time we start working together as peacemaking children of God to free
creation from its present corruption.
With this in mind, let’s look at our first Bible lesson…
Mark 2:13-28 is a continuation of where we left off last week in Mark’s
account of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
13. And He went out again by the seashore; and all the multitude were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.
Every time we see a reference to Jesus teaching the people, we also wonder
if the people spiritually hear heavenly callings, or do His words go in one
ear and out the other.
The answer is most likely that the crowd was composed of both kinds of
people: those who spiritually hear heavenly callings, and those who do not
because they love the ways of the world too much.
14. And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, "Follow Me!" And he rose and followed Him.
The very fact the Levi got up and left the tax office and followed Jesus is proof that he was one of the people who spiritually hear heavenly callings and responds to them.
15. And it came about that He [Jesus] was reclining at the table in his [Levi’s] house, and many tax-gatherers and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him.
This should give us something to meditate upon: are these other tax
collectors and sinners attending the dinner because they spiritually hear
heavenly callings that are leading them to salvation?
We simply don’t know for sure, because Mark is not telling us here.
But we are not the only ones looking in on this gathering.
16. And when the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax-gatherers, they began saying to His disciples, "Why is He eating and drinking with tax-gatherers and sinners?"
It is obvious that these religious leaders did not spiritually hear heavenly
callings, or they would not be complaining and finding fault with what Jesus
was doing.
And these are exactly the same kinds of religious leaders that we find in
many of our churches today.
17. And hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Here we are hopefully learning more about the people who have gathered
there; it is obvious that the spiritual leaders have no interest in heavenly
matters, for they are too concerned about worldly things.
But nevertheless, Jesus tells them the truth about why He was there, but
these so-called religious men are not listening, which is obvious by what
they said next…
18. And John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they came and
said to Him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees
fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"
19. And Jesus said to them, "While the bridegroom is with them, the
attendants of the bridegroom do not fast, do they? So long as they have the
bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
Jesus is the bridegroom seeking to be like a husband taking care of His repentant and truly believing family.
20. "But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.
But today we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us; that is, if we are
truly born again.
So, Jesus goes on and gives them a few examples…
21. "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the
patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results.
22. "And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will
burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and the skins as well; but one puts
new wine into fresh wineskins."
In other words, those who spiritually hear heavenly callings, know and understand the heavenly will of God and respond to His desire for our lives, for they have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to guide them in everything they say and do.
23. And it came about that He was passing through the grainfields on the
Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the
heads of grain.
24. And the Pharisees were saying to Him, "See here, why are they doing what
is not lawful on the Sabbath?"
We hear these kinds of things from people who will not follow the heavenly
will of God and continue to corrupt creation instead of helping to free
creation from its present corruption for the benefit of all humans, and
other animals, and the environment in which we all live.
Instead, these kinds of people resort to finding fault with true believing
peacemaking children of God by taking some Biblical passage out of context
as a weapon against them, but we should be able to see through their evil
intent.
25. And He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in
need and became hungry, he and his companions:
26. how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest,
and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except
the priests, and he gave it also to those who were with him?"
27. And He was saying to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man
for the Sabbath.
28 "Consequently, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
NASB
Jesus is indeed Lord of the Sabbath, and He is showing us how to discern and
apply Biblical precepts; if something is not truly loving, it is not in the
heavenly will of God.
Let’s now take a look at 1 Corinthians 9:19-27, while still thinking about
people who spiritually hear heavenly callings.
19. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more.
This in itself can be a good way to win people to God, but we cannot compromise the heavenly will of God in the process.
20. And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who
are under the Law, as under the Law, though not being myself under the Law,
that I might win those who are under the Law;
21. to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without
the law of God but under the law of Christ, that I might win those who are
without law.
22. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all
things to all men, that I may by all means save some.
23. And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a
fellow partaker of it.
It is very easy to misinterpret what Paul wrote to the Corinthians, for on
the surface it might seem to be saying that we can do the ungodly things
that the people of the world do, so that they might be saved, but nothing is
further from the truth.
We are never to compromise the heavenly will of God or what we know the Holy
Spirit is prompting us to do, but we need to be careful, for the devil can
also be encouraging us to do things that are ungodly.
As an example, we may not eat or wear any animal products, for we know that
all of them are the products of violence and death, and thus are outside the
heavenly will of God.
If we do eat or wear animal products, the people we are trying to reach are
very likely to think that we are hypocrites and that it is not important to
be vegan, if we do not hold fast to our calling.
We do not have to slip down to the worldly ways of people in order to win
them to Christ and to become peacemaking children of God who help free
creation from its present corruption instead of further corrupting creation.
We can become as these people, in love and friendship, without partaking of
their worldly ways; we can be even more effective in winning people to
Christ by setting the example of heavenly living before them in an
uncompromising way.
We always want to be able to spiritually hear heavenly callings, and we want
these other people to be able to do the same thing.
24. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
We do this by remaining in the heavenly will of God and not letting anyone or anything block our ability to spiritually hear heavenly callings.
25. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
This only happens when we live in the heavenly will of God at all times and allow the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our every action.
26. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way,
as not beating the air;
27. but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have
preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.
NASB
This only happens when we allow ourselves to compromise God’s heavenly will
before others, in order to retain their friendship.
We are not to do these things; we are to always remain faithful to God and
His heavenly will, and to always keep our mind and soul open to spiritually
hear heavenly callings.
We are to always set the example of heavenly living here on earth as it is
in heaven.
Amen.
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