Mark 1:27-28
And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.
Jesus had just called out a few of the disciples and then He heads to church. Imagine their surprise when Christ calls out the demon from the young man. The disciples had been on the job less than a day and already the excitement started. Jesus had stopped by the fishing villages and offered them the opportunity for a new direction in their lives, but I doubt they’d imagined that it would be like this. They knew He was different, else why would they have left the stable jobs they had as fisherman to follow Him. They’d surely felt their hearts stir within them He spoke, something drew them to Him; but they weren’t the only ones Jesus had stirred.
Jesus stirred the satanic forces. They knew who He was. They called Him by name in Mark 1:24 ~ “I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.” Satan and his band of mayhem men know when God is moving in someone’s life. They know that their heyday is about to end and they rip and tear at everything they can get their teeth into to try and destroy the vessel that God is about to use. But it’s futile. Because when God takes over, the vessel is new! And when the religious leaders of the day seen Christ restore the young man to whole, they said… “This is new!”
Jesus stirred the sanctuary. They didn’t know who He was. They had been so used to dead religion, that they didn’t really know how to take the Live. Lively gospel bothers people, because they can’t control it. It’s easy to sit in a dead church, there’s nothing there to drive you up out of your seat. But get in a service where the Holy Spirit is moving and you’ll see people stand and testify, raise their hands and shout at unacceptable times, and glory to God… it makes people ask questions, like “Where did He get that authority?”
The new disciples had to have known life was about to change. When Jesus stirs up your life, it makes you and everyone else around you uncomfortable. Some will stand beside you and wait with anticipation to see what The Lord is going to do, and others will walk away. Possibly because they’re afraid they’ll get caught up in the moment and jump on the glory train, or because they’re satisfied with mediocrity.
I don’t want mediocre. I want heart thumping, soul stirring events in my life that leave people saying “By what authority did that happen?” And I can answer them with a grin on my chin… That’s God!
Is your soul stirring? Get up! and then let me know where you go…