MARK 14:33 “And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;”
Amazed – greatly surprised; astonished. Being amazed transfoms you, in a good way or not so good way. Amazement is a part of growing. The younger you are the more you are amazed. Once you stop being amazed, you being to rot.
The greatest joy of having your own kids is seeing how they are amazed at about just about anything. Burps, bugs, water splashing is all amazing to them.
I am going on 68 years now. Not much amazes me anymore. I went to ‘planet Word’ today in NW DC. That was pretty amazing (if you like kids, and or words/linguistics). I am right now in DC with a group of pretty amazing pastors right now. But not much truly amazes me anymore. And that concerns me because it’s a spiritual state.
Pastor Chuck Smith, who ordained me as a Calvary Chapel Pastor, was perpetually amazed. He saw God’s majesty in a flower. I had the honor of taking a couple walks with him. He would stop and explain enthusiastically about his favorite flower and how perfectly God designed them. Don’t get him started on astronomy! Did you know that anthropology is the study of someone who looks up. Only humans look up and are amazed by the sky. That’s to fill our spiritual need of amazement. That’s why Chuck was used of God so tremendously til the end. He never stopped being amazed. That’s why he finished so strong! Be a constant student of God by being amazed!
1 Cor 11:14 Doth not even nature itself teach you
I am with a bunch of amazing calvary chapel pastors this week, touring Washington and praying for a peaceful turnover. Their amazement amazed me. Pastor Mike Mac was amazed by everything as was our Pastor Chuck Smith. That’s why Mike is still going strong at 80 years old, standing in the gap for america.
Ezekiel 22:30: “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.”
This weekend is the most important time in All of American History to pray for America!!!
Enlist in Pastor Mike’s PrayerForce, goal of 1,000,000 intercessors for USA. Pray for America.
https://www.mikemacintosh.com/prayer-force
Something about getting amazed easily ‘broke’ somewhere inside me during the military. I got into selling cars when I got out of the army. I was a dismal failure until I read a book by Joe Girard, that amazed me. It was ‘How to sell anything to anyone’. From then on I averaged delivering a new car a day for over 3 years, until they ‘demoted me’ to management.
For a while I stopped being amazed, and my life was spiraling downwards. We need amazement. False amazement, feelings, can be bought. Drugs, booze, all kinds of sin. But boring. King Solomon had it all. He had everything except amazement. And it might have cost him his soul! And he was the richest and wisest man that ever lived, and at the end of his God Blessed life this is what he wrote as a result of being unamazed.
Ecclesiastes 1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
I was there, struggling in a job I was not cut out for. Then I finally got amazed again. A pastor once said half heartedly from a pulpit 100 yards away from me “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. That is a quote from the Sermon on the Mount in the Bible, Matthew 5:3. It’s one of the Beatitudes. It amazed me. It floored me. It transformed me. It changed my life. What amazed me? It certainly wasn’t the pastor or his charisma. He isn’t even a particularily nice person. It was the power of the living Word of God. The Word of God never comes back void.
Amazement (and it’s evil 2nd cousin, embarrassment) in themselves are extremely spiritual. Animals don’t get aamazed or embarrassed. They smell something stinky or are afraid, but to be amazed or embarrassed you have to have a soul.
Notice that people deep in sin don’t even get embarrassed? When I was 10, my little cousin Todd was 5. It was a hot saturday morning and we were in our tighty whities watching ‘romper room’. Miss Nancy (my 2nd hot crush after Mary Poppins) was looking through her magic mirror and she said ‘I see Todd’ and Todd was mortified cause she said she saw him in his underwear. (I was so relieved she didn’t see ‘Deannie’) Nowdays guys and girls walk around with their pants half off, flashing proudly their underwear. No shame!
Jeremiah 6:15 They should be ashamed of their disgusting sins, but they don’t even blush.
I love to be amazed. I seek to be amazed. But it’s harder and harder. You can’t force spiritual things, although a lot of people try to. What confused me was the opening verse here. Why was Jesus amazed and troubled when He was about to go to the cross? Just strange wording. Only King James uses it.
Personally. I think Jesus (the 100% human in Him) was amazed that He would be so troubled. Christians go through trials and tribulations their whole lives. And we are not happy about it. 500,000 christians got martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ last year. I doubt many were singing ‘oh happy day’ at their deaths. We are going through mild religious persecution where we live. We are in the last days. It’s to be expected. But none the less, I am amazed I am not taking it as gallantly as I thought I would. When tribulation comes, it’s never easy. But Rejoice!
Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice
I think the human side of Jesus expected not to be bothered so much to finally reach His destiny. I don’t think any human knows how they’ll react when and if martyrdom knocks on the door. I like to think I’d be brave and die heroically for my faith in Jesus but sometimes I don’t even have the will power to not eat that 2nd (or 3rd) jelly donut. (Deadly sin of Gluttony)
I learned in the army that heroes are just as scared as cowards. Fear in itself is amazing. That’s why there’s adrenaline junkies (false fake spiritual amazement seekers). You can either face fear and be a heroic over-comer or run and be a coward. What happened to the people who denied their faith by saying Nero Ceaser was Lord too, in order to save themselves? I think the Lord had grace on their souls but they didn’t get the crowns that the martyrs who were torn apart bt Lions got. Many of the cowards in Nero’s day thought they were going to have enough faith to persevere to the end, but they didn’t. They weren’t amazed enough by Jesus.
Your emotions have no effect on what you are. Being embarrassed, amazed, or bored doesn’t matter after a time, to anything but your soul. As we age, and approach death, ‘the thrill is gone’ as BB King would croon. Those things like amazement are needed to help us to grow spiritually. And to bring us more to Jesus in the process. Jesus conquered our emotions by doing the most amazing feat of all time. Dying for our sins (on purpose) and resurrecting.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
So. How do us old folks get spiritually amazed again?? Amazement in Christ, like when I first heard about Him coming for the lost and poor in spirit (unamazed people). Amazement brings about repentance of sin and personal revival. It’s like what comes first, the chicken or the egg? If you repent of sin, and ask God to continuously show you new sin in your life that you can cut out, and meditate in His Word, and praise Him, and love Him more, you will become amazed again and again with Him as you keep knowing Him better! So to be amazed, stay in a state of specific prayer, praise and and worship. I found out this week that my staleness has been because I basically stopped playing praise and worship music because I have been soooo busy. Needed it though! Prayer, praise and worship! Siamese triplets attached at the brain. Come together, and you need all 3.
Psalm 85:6 – 11 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation. I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.
Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
Love in Christ
Dean
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