April 2000

[3 of 3]

by Carole Forde

"The Son of Man has no place to LAY His Head! " (Mt 8:20)The word, "lay", used here is from Gk 2827 and is defined: "TO INCLINE; BOW DOWN; BE FAR SPENT; TURN TO FLIGHT; WEAR AWAY; AND RECLINE!"[Parts One and Two of this series feature verses using"Incline, Bow down, and Be far Spent".]

"TURN TO FLIGHT"

Heb 11:34 bespeaks of those great men who came before us such as: "Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephtae, David, Samuel and the prophets, Who, by faith, subdued kingdoms; wrought righteousness; obtained promises; stopped the mouths of lions; quenched the violence of fire; escaped the edge of the sword; were made strong out of weakness; waxed valiant in fight; and TURNED TO FLIGHT armies of aliens!"

Lk 9:12-17 tells of how Jesus, "Spoke to the multitudes, who had been following after Him, about the Kingdom of God; and He healed all who needed healing. But then as ’The Day’ began to WEAR AWAY, [In other words, the Anointing on Jesus for this series of miracleswas nearing its fulfillment], so the twelve apostles came to Christ saying, ‘Send the crowdsaway so they can go to the nearby towns and surrounding countrysides to find lodging and food; for we are out here in this desert (called Bethsaida- lit meaning "House of fishing!")But Jesus said, ‘No, you feed them !’ But they responded, ‘How can we? We have only five loaves of bread and two fishes; so we would have to go and buy meat for all these people.’ (They said this because the multitude numbered around 5000 people.) But Jesus said to His ‘disciples’ (lit. ‘disciplined ones’; or ‘Sons-in-training’) ‘Tell them all to RECLINE in groups of 50!’ [50 = The Holy Spirit] And they did so; and all of them did RECLINE! Then Jesus took the five loaves and two fishes and looking up to heaven blessed them and broke them and gave to the disciples to set before the crowds."

               By not dispensing food to the multitudes directly; but involving His disciples, Jesus initiated a Sovereign chain of command; where this highest ranking Officer (Captain of our Salvation- Heb 2:10) in the Army of God empowers his junior officers to administer His power in righteousness, wisdom and mercy!] Understanding why God does the things He does, we are blessed to share His Wisdom. He knows "the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit"; so He speaks only to the Man of Spirit. His "Yoke of obedience" brings us release from all human responsibility. Our natural wisdom is constantly being put to the challenge by that sacred "Yoke" of the Mind of Christ! It is only when we think as He thinks; feel as He feels; and exchange His Will for our will that we can be trusted to serve the desperate needs of today’s world. This is why we have had to wait and wait and wait some more; watching helplessly as the world suffers so. God’s sons will be no self-righteous religious ones like "The Pharisees who lay heavy burdens (of carnal-minded doctrines. and religious rituals) on men’s shoulders" (Mt 23:1-10) instead of the Ark of the Covenant and its Mercyseat! Their burdens CONDEMN, CONFUSE, and CONDESCEND! But God’s sons shall minister RECONCILIATION, REDEMPTION, and RESURRECTION!
               Jas 1:27 addresses today’s plight of homeless multitudes saying, "Pure Religion is undefiled before God and the Father! It means to: VISIT (minister to) THE FATHERLESS AND WIDOWS IN THEIR AFFLICTION (but at the same time) REMAIN UNSPOTTED FROM THE WORLD!" There are an estimated 12,000 homeless people in Las Vegas, Nevada, alone. This is 2% of the entire population of Montana; and the sole population of many small towns. This situation is a great scourge on the earth; and can only be eliminated by Christ’s Love in a people who have surrendered their shoulders as the place where the Son of Man can LAY HIS HEAD! Amen.