GRINDIT podcast

In verses 14-28, Jesus casts a demon out of a man who couldn’t speak. After the demon was gone, the guy could talk. You would think people would be excited about this but nope, some of the people in the crowd accused Jesus of getting his power from Satan. They must have been murmuring amongst themselves because Luke says, “Jesus knew their thoughts” and he called them out on it telling them a kingdom divided against itself can’t stand. They challenged Jesus and demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority. He just did idiots! So Jesus has a conversation with these people and as he is talking some woman yells out of nowhere “God bless your mother—the womb from which you came, and the breasts that nursed you!” In vs28 Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.” This is the point Jesus wanted them to get. This crowd, like many others, are hearing the word of God, from God himself, and instead of putting it into practice, they are challenging him and his authority. Don’t follow the crowd. Follow Jesus and do what he says and let your light shine.

Jesus, as he does so eloquently, tells the disciples a story to illustrate the power of prayer and what is going on when we do pray. Some guy wasn’t prepared for the guests that will soon be arriving at his house so in a panic he goes to a neighbor’s house while they are all in the bed, knocks on the door, and asks for three loaves of bread and he explains why. The neighbor is reluctant because he was comfortable and wanted to go to sleep but the guy won’t take no for an answer and he keeps on knocking on the door. Realizing he won’t get any sleep unless if he gives this guy the bread, he gets up and gets the bread and gives it to the persistent neighbor. How many times have we prayed for something a time or two and gave up thinking God wasn’t going to answer? Jesus tells his disciples and us, “Be persistent and if you keep on knocking, God will answer!” That is a promise from the mouth of Jesus himself…

How often do you pray? Every day? Once in a while? Only when trouble comes your way? When you are desperate? Jesus was constantly going off alone to spend some time with the Father in prayer. Prayer is how we communicate with God, it’s us having a conversation with Him. The disciples have watched Jesus do this for so long and they noticed there’s something special about the time Jesus spends with the Father so they came to him and said, “Teach us how to pray…” Prayer is critical in our daily walk with God and if we aren’t praying, our relationship is suffering just like our earthly relationships do between souses, friends, and loved ones. If there isn’t much communication, then the relationship is weak and it dwindles away. If there is strong communication, then the relationship is strong. God wants a strong relationship with you and me and He is waiting to have a conversation so start talking! And as you talk, just like in any good conversation, you have to listen! Jesus tells his disciples how they should pray to the Father and we can do the same today…

When the 72 disciples came back to Jesus they reported everything God had done through them and they were so excited because demons didn’t stand a chance against the name of Jesus! Jesus was moved by their excitement and was filled with joy but he tells them, “Don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.” Miracles are awesome but the Miracle Worker is the greatest ever! So many churches, so many Christians today are looking for miracles when we should be looking for the miracle worker Jesus and drawing close to him. And that is the message Jesus had for those disciples! Rejoice, not in the miracles, but that your names are registered in heaven! We may never see a miracle but we definitely see the miracle worker some day! Is your name registered in heaven so you can stay with the miracle worker, Jesus, for eternity?

Just as he did with his hand-picked 12 disciples, Jesus commissions 72 more people to go into more towns and villages to tell people the Kingdom of God is here. He gave them the power and authority to heal the sick and cast out demons to ack up their message. If the people accepted the message, they received a blessing but if they rejected the message, then they decided their own fate. Just like these 72 disciples, you and I have been chosen by Jesus, filled with his Holy Spirit, and been given the commission, the Great Commission, of going out amongst the world and telling people the good news about Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection! Are you sharing the Good News?

Jesus takes three of his disciples up on a mountain to pray. This has happened before because Jesus would spend time with the Father in prayer but this time something is different. Jesus begins to pray like before but two men show up and they carry on a conversation about the death and resurrection that Jesus would soon experience. Luke tells us these two guys are Moses and Elijah. Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the prophets both of which Jesus is greater. During this time Jesus turns a brilliant white and Luke said it was glorious to see! But here’s the problem…Peter, James, and John almost missed the whole thing because they were sleeping! Yes! They fell asleep while Jesus was praying and they only woke up to see Moses and Elijah walking away and disappearing into a cloud! You can be the most faithful follower of Jesus but if you are asleep spiritually, you are missing out on the some of the greatest blessings God has for you! Wake Up!!!

Do you trust God? Seriously…do you fully rely on God? That was the message Jesus was trying to get his disciples to focus on. He knew he was going to die soon leaving them in charge so he was trying to get them to rely on God and not themselves. He even told them that he was going to die but what was they concerned with? Who is the greatest among them…Then Jesus has this mountain top experience in the Transfiguration while Peter, James, and John slept. After they come down from the mountain there is a ginormous crowd waiting and Jesus wants to feed them. He tells the disciples to feed the people but they say it can’t be done…wrong! Jesus takes two fish and five loaves of bread and feeds thousands of people which again shows that they should rely on God and not themselves. Then he turns to the crowd and says, “If you want to follow me, then you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” Our natural instinct is “I must be in control” but God says, “I want control…” Who is in control of your life? You or God?

Have you ever wished you could walk into hospitals and lay hands on every person in it and heal them? Just bring so much joy to those who are suffering and to heal them from their pain? Maybe you, yourself, or a loved one has dealt with a life challenge and you would heal that situation. The fact is there is something greater than miracles…the Miracle Worker! Jesus! Jesus is who we should be focused on and not the miracles. Jesus gave the disciples the power and authority to work miracles and cast out demons but the reason he did so was to enable them to go into villages and tell the people about the Kingdom of God and as they told the message, they could back it up with evidence by working a miracle. God can and does still work miracles today but we need to look for the Miracle Worker instead of the miracle because if the miracle doesn’t happen, the Miracle Worker will still save us and bring us on home to be with him in heaven so either way, it’s a win-win!

In this last part of Luke 8 we see several examples of miracles such as Jesus calming the storm by speaking a few words when the disciples were scared out of their minds. When they got to the shore there was a naked man who came running up to the boat shrieking and making weird noises because he was full of demons. Jesus cast the demons out him into a herd of pigs and the shepherds take off running to town and tell the people what happened. The crowd comes out to see the naked man who is now fully clothed and he is sitting at the feet of Jesus completely sane. They freak out and ask Jesus to leave town! Then there is Jairus who’s 12 year old daughter is almost dead. He begs Jesus to come to his house and heal her but as they are on their way, a woman who has been bleeding for 12 years comes up from behind Jesus and touches the hem of is garment and was healed. Jesus has a conversation with the woman and as he is talking, some of Jairus’ friends show up and tell him that his daughter is dead. Jesus tells Jairus something that we all need to hear today, “Don’t be afraid.” In fact, it is a theme throughout these examples. Today, in the midst of Covid and all kinds of chaos, people are living in fear and Jesus is saying, “Fear not, trust me.” Do you?

Jesus began to teach the crowds in parables. The first parable Jesus tells is about a farmer who sawed seed and prepared for a harvest. The seed fell on different places such as footpaths, the rocks, the thorns, and on good, fertile soil. The thing about the seed is that it was always useful, even on the footpaths because it became birdseed. Jesus interprets the parable for his disciples and he explains the different types of soil and what happened to the seed. He then tells a parable about a light and how people put their lamps on a stand so the light will illuminate the room. Light reveals and that is great because we can see obstacles that would harm us if it was dark…like a Lego we were about to step on! We need to be fertile soil that produces fruit and we need to shine our light in a dark world so people will be able to find hope!