A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day (February 27, 2018)
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)
There is a great illustration in the Bible about how Jesus taught his disciples. He would give them a classroom type teaching and then He would take them out into the real world and give them what we would label today as on-the-job training. One of these type situations is written about in Mark 4. Jesus had been teaching His disciples in parables and explaining to them at length how the Kingdom of God worked and that same day He told them to get into a boat and go to the other side.
And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? (Mark 4:35-40)
There is a great lesson in this story that applies to many Christians today. Every time a storm arises in our life we run to Jesus to fix it. Jesus was obviously frustrated with these disciples because they were in fear and did not exercise their faith. Any one of them could have done the same thing that Jesus did but instead they woke Jesus up and asked Him to tackle the situation. What was the problem? Jesus pinpointed the problem as fear and lack of faith.
We can look at these disciples today and criticize them but the truth is most Christians today are in this same boat. They are not aware of the power and authority that has been given them through Jesus Christ and they are afraid to act.
I remember when I was first saved our Pastor asked me one night to pray in church. This was unexpected and I was so nervous that I prayed a very disjointed prayer. I was so embarrassed and of course the first thoughts that came into my head were condemning words from the enemy, “So, you call yourself a Christian. You can’t even pray right”. I was a mess when I got back home, feeling sorry for myself, until I started to pray and heard God’s response to me. He said this, “Why are you so concerned about something I am not finished with yet. Have I not saved you and delivered you from alcohol. Rejoice in that and do not be concerned with what I am not finished with yet”. That changed my life and eventually, after praying thousands of times privately and publicly, God has taught me how to pray.
Here are a few keys that every one of us need to learn. God has not given us a spirit of fear so if you are fearful about doing something Godly (like prayer) just do it afraid. The fear will eventually leave but it requires you to do it afraid. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. You have to first study and meditate on the Word of God. But, it’s not enough to just to have head knowledge of the Word. You have to be a doer of the Word, not just a hearer, or you can deceive yourself. It is the doing of the Word that seals that truth in you where no one can come in and steal it. If you have laid hands on a sick person and seen them healed, no one can tell you that healing is not for today. If you have prayed for a prodigal and seen them return, no one can tell you prayer does not work. If you have heard God speak to you and you have been obedient to do what He said and witnessed a miracle, no one can tell you that God does not still speak to His people.
Here is the point. Don’t wake Jesus up when you have the power and authority to do it yourself! Know who you are in Jesus. Know that He has given you the power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. Know that you can tell mountains to move and storms to be still. If you know these things, you can let Jesus sleep. It is time we all grew up and did what Jesus commissioned and empowered us to do.
