Gary Gleans

Matthew 14:22, 23 22  Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away.  23  After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. Mark 6:45, 46 45  Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of  Him  to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away.  46  After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray. John 6:14,15 14  Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15  So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone. Power is one of the most craved commodities in the world today.  People go to great lengths to gain power and control over oth

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Feeding_of_the_Five_Thousand.htm There are many times in life and ministry that we make plans that don’t turn out like we expected.  Jesus sent the disciples out on their first “solo mission” where they went and experienced what it was like to go out and do the work of the ministry.  It was a special time in their life and training but they were about to get a bonus lesson.  There are times when we think we are done, but God decides that we still have more that we need to learn.  Our experience rarely aligns with our expectations. INTERRUPTION: The disciples were excited by what they had experienced when they went out on their ministry assignment.  I can imagine them all sharing stories of how the Spirit had used them and all of their different experiences.  Jesus decides to take them on a post ministry retreat so they get in a boat and are on their way to a place of rest where they expect to have some “down time” as they share with each

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Guilty_Fears_of_Herod_Antipas_about_Jesus_Because_He_Had_Beheaded_John_the_Baptist_.htm   God’s ways are often hard for us to understand.  In our minds, an all-powerful and loving God should always prevent injustice.  It is difficult for us to understand how God could allow His faithful servant, John the Baptist, to be killed at the whim of pretty girl and a vindictive woman.  Even though we may not understand, it is important that we realize that God will allow very bad things to happen to very good people.  We might not like this truth or be able to explain this truth but we had better get used to this truth.  It is repeatedly taught throughout Scripture and has been repeatedly experienced throughout history.  God is always on mission.  His mission is to bring glory to Himself by having disciples that worship Him in every nation.  There are times when the suffering of faithful people contributes to the accomplishment of that mission.  God

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Guilty_Fears_of_Herod_Antipas_about_Jesus_Because_He_Had_Beheaded_John_the_Baptist_.htm The miracles and teachings of Jesus were intended to convince the people that Jesus was Messiah.  However, the simplicity, poverty and lack of political involvement made it impossible for them to even consider this as a possibility.  Jesus had claimed to be Messiah.  John the Baptist had proclaimed that He was Messiah.  The people could not believe that Messiah would be anything like Jesus, but they were curious as to who He might be and they talked about their various opinions.  The general consensus was that Jesus was some sort of special prophet.  Some thought He was Elijah returning to speak to them, perhaps because he had been translated to heaven and had not died so they thought maybe Elijah had come back to resume his ministry.  Others thought Jesus might be a more recent prophet, John the Baptist raised from the dead.  This discussion along with t

Matthew 10:40-42 40  “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  41  “He who receives a prophet in  the  name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.  42  “And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.” Eternal rewards are constantly used by Jesus as a means of motivating His disciples to obey and serve Him.  As Jesus sent out His young missionaries, He instructed them and warned them about the costs of discipleship.  He closes out this time of instruction by motivating them about the benefits of discipleship.  Jesus warned them about the rejection that would occur as a result of representing Him; then He concludes by talking about the reception they would experience as a result of serving Him.  Those who go out in the

Matthew 10:34-39 34  “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.  35  “For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW;  36  and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.  37  “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  38  “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  39  “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. Tests are designed to demonstrate authenticity.  In academics, we give tests to determine the authenticity of a student’s knowledge.  A jeweler will test the authenticity of a diamond or precious metal.  Jesus is giving the disciples the criteria for testing the authenticity of their faith.  There is a great misunderstanding about being a Christian in to

Matthew 10:32-33 32  “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.  33  “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. Counterfeit faith is one of the greatest dangers facing the world today.  It is far more dangerous to think that you are saved and be unsaved than it is to know that you or lost or at least it is obvious to others.  Those who think that they are saved and act enough like believes when they are around believes that people don’t question them are in a very dangerous place and will be in for a terrible shock when they enter eternity.  Judas fit into that category.  The scary thing is that Jesus said in other places that there will be many people in that position.  I urge all who read this to examine themselves and even ask others to examine them to see if they are in the faith.  This passage gives a very simple way to determine the authenticity of our disciples

Matthew 10:26-31 26  “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.  27  “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear  whispered in  your  ear, proclaim upon the housetops.  28  “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  29  “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And  yet  not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  30  “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  31  “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. Fear can be one of our most helpful or most debilitating emotions.  Fear can protect us from danger and empower us to either fight of flee.  Fear can also prevent us from doing God’s will and paralyze us so we don’t even try to accomplish tasks we know need to be done.  This is a major factor in the lives of those God sends to His mi

Matthew 10:21-25 21  “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father  his  child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.  22  “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. 23  “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish  going through  the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.   24  “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.  25  “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more  will they malign  the members of his household! Salvation comes at a price.  It is a free gift from God to us but it cost Jesus His life.  There is nothing that we can do to earn salvation we receive it by grace through faith in the cross of Christ.  However, there are consequences we will expe

Matthew 10:16-20 16  “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.  17  “But beware of men, for they will hand you over to  the courts and scourge you in their synagogues;  18  and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.  19  “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.  20  “For it is not you who speak, but  it is  the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. The mission God has called us to fulfill is not an easy one.  There is a price to pay and there are dangers we will face.  However, Jesus has promised that we will never be alone in these times of trouble for the sake of the kingdom.  As Jesus was preparing to send out His disciples to do the work of the ministry He wanted to warn them of the dangers they would face and prepare them for suffering they would

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Third_Tour_of_Galilee_after_Instructing_the_Twelve_and_Sending_Them_Ahead_by_Twos_.htm The mission of Jesus on earth was passed on to His disciples.  Jesus had taught His disciples many things about the ministry.  He had shown, by example, how to do the ministry.  Now it was time for them to go out and do the work of the ministry for themselves.  As Jesus prepares His disciples to go out and do the work of the ministry, He gives them several instructions that would help them as they moved forward.  In essence, they were just to do what they had seen Jesus doing all along.  However, they were not alone on this mission.  These men were unique at a unique moment in history but many things about the mission we are called to continue to be very similar.    COMMISSION BY GOD: The disciples were commissioned by God to go out to the villages in pairs and do the work of the ministry.  That ministry included preaching the Gospel, casing out daemon

Matthew 9:35-38 35  Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.  36  Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.  37  Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  38  “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” Selfishness is a weed that grows naturally in our hearts.  It is so easy for our lives to become centered on our own agendas, our own problems and our own desires.  God wants us to live in a different way.  Jesus set the example for us be living for others instead of Himself.  We can see that His ministry was marked by serving others, loving others and praying for others.  This is certainly an example worth following.  Sometimes we have a hard time deciding what our priorities s

Mark 6:1-6 1  Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him.  2  When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man  get  these things, and what is  this  wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?  3  “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.  4  Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his  own  relatives and in his  own  household.”  5  And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  6  And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching. Familiarity breeds contempt.  This saying applies to the text we are looking at today.  Jesus comes back to His home town and is well received by the people

Matthew 9:1-8 1  Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over  the sea  and came to His own city. 2  And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”  3  And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This  fellow  blasphemes.”  4  And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?  5  “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’?  6  “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.”  7  And he got up and went home.  8  But when the crowds saw  this,  they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men. There is an authority crisis in the world today.  There are two reasons for this crisis.  First, most people don’t recognize the authority of God or anyone for that matter.  The only authority th