Light on the Hill

James Kaddis: Has this ever happened to you? You've experienced it in one way or another. You may be befriended somebody, you entrusted something very special to somebody, and they abused that trust. They took advantage of it. They stepped all over what was very precious to you. It happens all the time.

The parallel here is remarkable because if you begin to understand what it's all about, you're going to realize just how serious of a picture that God is trying to draw. And we're going to get into it because it speaks volumes about, ready for this? How we study the Bible and how we apply the study of the Bible to our hearts. We're going back to the argument of instrumentation. It's all going to come together in just a minute.

Guest (Male): Life on this earth as we know it is extremely dangerous and getting more reckless by the moment. It's critical we maintain safety and security by putting our full faith and trust in God. Without him, everything falls apart. When we choose to trust him, even a very dangerous world can become an exciting and healthy place to live. Here's Pastor James Kaddis to explain from Mark Chapter 12 on Light on the Hill.

James Kaddis: Before we jump into chapter 12, one thing that I would like to do for just a moment is to kind of draw a picture of where we left off. Now, I don't have to get into a big long dissertation as to the last place that we found ourselves last week, but the one thing that I do want to do is to remind everybody that there is an ongoing confrontation that's taking place between these religious people groups, like the scribes, like the Pharisees, like the Sanhedrin, that are confronting Christ in a way that they are seeking to entrap him because they are recognizing that what Christ is bringing to the table is not so comfortable.

That what Christ is bringing to the table might not even be received as welcoming in many ways because what it is doing is it is bringing an aspect of confrontation that is creating a specific mechanism or a construct in a person's mind by which they are being forced to step out of the state of mind that they've been in that's made them comfortable into a place that's uncomfortable because they're having to do something that's brand new. And this is not like the type of thing where the uncomfortableness that you feel the first time you change a child's diaper. It's not that kind of uncomfortable.

It's the kind of uncomfortable that says everything my life has ever been accustomed to, everything my life has ever been used to, is now being confronted in a way where I am being forced to step out of that zone that I have viewed and understood as my place of comfort prior to this point. And I feel like I'm walking blind. And not only do I feel like I'm walking blind, I feel like the only thing I have left is my understanding of the direction in which I've been given by God even though I don't see it. Kind of funny how that works because it's a hard place to be sometimes.

It's a hard place to be in a mindset where you're moving in a direction and the last thing you know is what you are aware of as truth and you lean on it even though your very soul, your very gut, your very well-being, the inside of you tells you that it's something else. Interesting how that works. I have a friend, dear friend, he's a really, really good guy. He is a Strike Eagle pilot and he flew F-18s, F-15s, and we've talked about this a lot because he is probably one of the world's most foremost authorities on airplane accidents and what happens.

And this discussion has been coming up a lot of what people call spatial disorientation. It's a concept that's discussed a lot. And one of the things that people need to understand is how absolutely real it is. Spatial disorientation is the very thing that killed Kobe Bryant. Spatial disorientation is the very thing that caused many of the accidents that we've been seeing as of late. And let me tell you what happens when this takes place. What happens is you're in an airplane, you're going, or a helicopter for that matter, you're going at a high rate of speed to the point where it just almost feels like with your own equilibrium you're moving forward.

When you are outside of the clouds and the weather is nice and everything is perfect and you're looking at the ground and you see things moving, everything feels natural. You don't have to lean on your instruments. You don't have to understand where the horizon is because you can see the horizon and everything seems to be fine. But then there are moments where your only experience may be flying in the sun, flying under reasonable circumstances, or maybe your experience is flying in bad weather. But the very moment you get in the clouds, one of the most dangerous things that can happen to you is that you can literally swear to yourself that the plane is pointed in an orientation based on the way you feel where it is not.

We've seen things like this happen before where it is absolutely wild. As a matter of fact, there's a term in the aviation world called the death spiral, where in essence somebody thinks that they're climbing up and out when in reality they are literally spiraling down to their death and they don't realize it. Why? Because when they're in the clouds, they have no orientation, they have no idea what direction they're pointed in, and their body, because of the way their equilibrium works and the pressure and all that, has convinced them that they're in an orientation that they're not and oftentimes put themselves in a place that's dangerous, oftentimes very fatal.

As a matter of fact, flight instructors, more experienced and aggressive ones, will oftentimes fly their students into clouds, allow the student to try to navigate into the cloud and then pull them out of the cloud in the same orientation they were when they went in, only to realize they're upside down or they're in some weird awkward position or something like that. And it's interesting because this is what happens for us. We become very disoriented in the world in which we live. We experience the fog of war. We go into really bad weather for lack of a better term.

We go through seasons of life where things are just very difficult, where they're painful, where they're hard, things are coming at us and we're looking out of the window and we have no idea what our orientation is. I just saw an interview of a guy who was in tears telling everybody, "Whatever you do, when you're in this situation, trust the instrument. Look at the instrument. I don't care if you feel like you're going in the opposite direction, just look at the instrument in front of you. It will save your life." And that is true literally 99.999% of the time.

And for us, I think that the principle is exactly the same. The principle is, if we follow our instrumentation, if within the fog of war we choose to ignore the emotions that that fog creates, if we choose to ignore the kind of pressures that we might be feeling in the false sense of orientation that we have, the equilibrium going in 50 different places, and we simply make the disciplined effort to look at our instrumentation and follow our instrumentation, every time we come out okay. Every time things work out well.

And I think that we're in a situation where we are right here where Christ is confronting these people. In the midst of it, they themselves are completely disoriented, thinking that in many levels they are going in a direction and they're actually not going in that direction. And perhaps the most consequential and significant reason why that is taking place is because they refuse to follow their instrumentation. They refuse to pay attention to the standard that the word of God would have provided them to teach them what they're looking at and thus come to the conclusions that were right, the conclusions that were well.

Folks, look, let me just explain something to you. By the time that these Pharisees and these Sadducees and these scribes and all of these people that were going to Jesus and confronting him, by the time they had gone to confront him, they should have already seen a remarkable set of biblical evidences that would have pointed them to the fact that indeed they were dealing with the creator of the universe. But because they gave themselves to the function of spatial disorientation in that they chose to allow themselves to get into the clouds and ignore the instrumentation to cause them to be able to see what way to go, they ended up allowing themselves and stumbling other people to generate a situation by which they were hopeless.

And that's the problem that we have right now. That's the situation that's going on. And I say this with great authority and I say this with great conviction, that in the most difficult of times and from the place of the most difficulty, I cannot emphasize how important it is to revert to your instrumentation, to understand that your orientation can only be guided by that which is capable of seeing in the areas that you can't see. And that's what the Bible does for us. That's how, that's what we are taught, that's what we learn.

So let's jump into this because we're in the midst of this confrontation. Jesus basically slaps these guys right back by basically explaining to them that he's not going to answer their question since they didn't answer his, which of course speaks very directly to the idea that if you do not seek the wisdom of God, you will never find the wisdom of God. If you're not going to the Lord and you're seeking him for insight, instruction, wisdom, discernment, you're never going to find it. Even if you solicit it in what you believe are the right places to find it, you never will because the posture of your heart is completely broken.

And that's a very important place to be. Look what it says here as we jump right in. It says in verse one, "And he began to speak unto them by parables." By the way, I should note this because I think it's important. I think that there is something powerful and effective in a man who will take the time to understand a particular subject matter so thoroughly that his understanding of that subject matter lends him to the ability of being able to aptly demonstrate the principles of that subject matter by telling stories. I think that's a very effective tool.

I think the best teachers in the world know how to do exactly that. The best teachers in the world know how to take one principle that might be very complex and demonstrate it effectively in a way that demonstrates mastery in that area by simply allowing the conversation concerning its description to be relegated to a series of stories that open up the mind and the heart of understanding. That's what Jesus did with parables. When Jesus, when it talks about the fact that Jesus told these parables, the picture that's being drawn for us is that Christ is seeking to tell a story to aptly demonstrate the principle that is so consequential and so significant.

You must pay attention because not paying attention will cause the disruption, the crash that happens from spatial disorientation. It's designed to give somebody a compass that allows them to be able to discern their bearing and recognize what's going on. And that's what Jesus is about to do. So he began to speak unto them by parables and he said, "A certain man planted a vineyard and set a hedge about it and digged a place for the winefat and built a tower and let it out to husbandmen and went into a far country." Now, the picture here that's being drawn is remarkable and it's one that I want everybody to understand.

You might not be able to understand the full implications of this if you don't recognize what it takes to build and maintain a vineyard. But let me just simply say this without getting into all the technicals of this because by the way, that is a wild goose chase when you talk about vineyards and what happens and all the kind of stuff that goes with that. But let me just simply say that the description in this parable that we are getting is of a competent farmer, a competent man who is developing for himself a vineyard that has every feature necessary in order for that vineyard to thrive.

Look at the elements that the man built. He planted a vineyard, meaning he obviously put the seed in, caused it to grow. He put a hedge around it, meaning he was protecting the crop that he was actually growing. He digged a place for the winefat and built a tower. In other words, he on the spot in the place that he was in even built a facility by which certain aspects of his process could actually be facilitated. And then it also tells us that he let it out to husbandmen and went into a far country.

In other words, "I've created it, it's self-contained, it's self-sufficient, it's capable of providing every single thing that you would expect a vineyard to provide. And now," he says, "Here it is to maintain." I think there's a very unique parallel here that we'll talk about in just a minute. Verse two, "And at the season, he sent to the husbandmen a servant that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard." Well, that's reasonable, right? I mean, if you think about it. He creates the vineyard, he does all the hard work, he invests in it, he does everything that's necessary to make it all work.

Then he takes it and he entrusts it to be cared for by these people while he's gone. And then while he's gone, he sends another one of his people that actually have expertise in this arena to go and to in essence collect the profits that come as a result of what's going on. Take it over in the season that it is supposed to produce its fruit. Makes perfect sense. "And they caught him and beat him and sent him away empty." Interesting. Now that doesn't make a lot of sense, does it? You know, it's one of the things that I struggle with oftentimes.

It's one of the hardest things that happen in the ministry. How in the world you can spend time, energy, and effort investing in people, caring for people, loving people, doing the things that God has called you to do for people and then being on the bitter end of those people being angry with you, putting you down, whatever it might be. It happens all the time. Every single person in the ministry has gone through it. If they haven't then they've only been in the ministry for five minutes, right?

You know what I'm talking about. And all of you know what that looks like. You've experienced it in one way or another. You may be befriended somebody, you entrusted something very special to somebody, and they abused that trust. They took advantage of it. They stepped all over what was very precious to you. It happens all the time. The parallel here is remarkable because if you begin to understand what it's all about, you're going to realize just how serious of a picture that God is trying to draw.

And we're going to get into it because it speaks volumes about, ready for this? How we study the Bible and how we apply the study of the Bible to our hearts. We're going back to the argument of instrumentation. It's all going to come together in just a minute. Look what it goes on to say. "And again, he sent unto them another servant. And at him they cast stones and wounded him in the head and sent him away shamefully handled." So at one point what do they do? They beat him. They send him away.

Then the owner of the vineyard sends somebody else and they beat him more severely. They throw rocks at him, they stone him, and they send him back pretty much half dead. So look what it goes on to say. It says, "And again, he sent another." This is verse five. "And him they killed. And many others, beating some and killing some. Having yet therefore one son, his well-beloved, he sent him also last unto them saying, 'Well, they're going to reverence my son. There's no way they're going to not reverence my son.'

But those husbandmen," verse seven, "said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance shall be ours.' And they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. What shall therefore the Lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the husbandmen and will give the vineyard unto others. And have you not read this scripture? The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner. This was the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes." Have you not read that passage?

Interesting by the way to think about what passage he's referring to there. I wish we had time to get into that, but it is a heavy one. It's one that's kind of important, especially as it relates to the custom that was tied to the temple. But the whole idea here behind this is the fact that he is highlighting the story of the chief cornerstone of the building of the temple actually being rejected and in essence feeling as though the rejection of that cornerstone dramatically influenced the capacity of the builders to finish the project that was at hand.

Verse 12, "And they sought to lay hold on him but feared the people, for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them and they left him and went their way." Okay, interesting. How is the parable against them? I mean, the story seems very harsh, right? It seems difficult. Well, how about we get into what the parable means? Because what the parable is communicating here is really important and the application to us is even more important. Okay? Let's look at the order. He builds this vineyard.

He makes this place that is not only acceptable for the benefit of the one who created it, but it is also acceptable for the ones who were called to work in it and be faithful in it. Let's draw a little parallel here and let's just simply say that God gave us this earth. And he gave us this earth not only that he may be blessed by our blessing within it. He gave us this earth with the intent that we would be good stewards of all the responsibilities that came with it.

Matter of fact, it's interesting, we talked about this on Saturday with the men and we talked about this spiritual principle in that when God deals with us, he generally likes to deal with us in abundance. This is not some health and wealth message. That's just ridiculous. But the idea that God communicates to us on a regular basis is that he gives us abundantly whatever we need to accomplish his call and his purpose. But there is a tremendous mistake that we can make in the process of bringing forth his abundance that we may be able to do his work. And that mistake is this: no matter how abundant the situation or the circumstance may be, we stumble ourselves by focusing on the lack.

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us today for Light on the Hill. What you just heard is one part of a study in Mark's Gospel from Pastor James Kaddis. You can hear it again at lightonthehillradio.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Not long ago, Pastor James released his new book on the first half of Revelation. It's entitled "The Last Book." He points out that Revelation isn't a book of fear but rather a book of hope. Pastor James will help you understand the world we live in and current events through a biblical lens, preparing your heart for what lies ahead. Get a copy by going to lightonthehillradio.com or through Amazon.

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James Kaddis: We ruin what God has for us by focusing on what we don't have rather than focusing on the abundance that we do. And if you don't believe me, you can go back to the very first time we see record of sin in Genesis. Why? Because in Genesis, God says, "You have this world. It's all yours. You can eat freely of anything, everything, you have it all. Except one thing. Don't eat this." Now think about that. Would everybody agree that this planet is a pretty big planet? Yeah.

Would you all agree that the square footage of this planet is definitely abundant? That there are probably areas on this earth still to this day that we've not explored? Is it easy to say that if God created the heavens and the earth and he finished forming and fashioning it, that at his very stage that he described the creation of it, at every stage he said it was good? Nothing flawed with what he created. It was literally perfect.

By the time the heavens and the earth were created and formed and fashioned, God basically told his people to be fruitful and to multiply, didn't he? He talked about this picture of having dominion over. He talked about this picture of being faithful and walking in that abundance, specifically five specific commands that relates to this issue. But because mankind decided to focus on the one thing they could not have, they forsook every beautiful resources that they already had.

Not what they could have had, they destroyed every resource that they already had. I deal with this when I counsel people oftentimes that come to me in regret after they do the evil thing that they do. The most common place that I see this is a man who will come to me and he says, "I just need to get my wife back. I need to restore my family relationship." But they weren't thinking about what they had when they pursued what they didn't have in an adulterous relationship.

They didn't think about all that God had given them until they allowed themselves to express what they had or what they wanted in their fleshly action, thus completely sabotaging everything that God had given them. It happens a lot. I see it all the time. I see people having so many wonderful things, so many good things to their name, yet they forsake it because they focus on what is lacking. They focus on what they perceive not to have or they focus on what they simply don't have, when in reality everything that God has given to them in abundance is far greater than anything they could have ever desired or wanted. Remember, you are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Light on the Hill with Pastor James Kaddis is brought to you by Calvary Chapel Signal Hill.