Saturday, August 02,
2014, 12:11 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “He Reached Down.” Speak, Lord, your
words to my heart. I read Matthew
4:12-25 (NIV).
A Great Light
When
Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving
Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of
Zebulun and Naphtali— to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
“Land
of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
the
people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on
those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.”
From
that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come
near.”
Jesus Christ was prophesied about in the book of Isaiah,
which is in the Old Testament. The people of Israel were taught these prophecies.
Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of them. He was and is their promised Messiah,
and he is ours, too.
Many people today are walking in darkness (sin; spiritual
blindness). Jesus Christ is the Light (divine truth; saving truth; the gospel).
He came into the world to give light to all people. He said we need to repent. To
repent means literally to have a change of mind; to think differently. It is
most always used in scripture with reference to forsaking our sins and to
turning to follow our Lord Jesus Christ in faith and obedience. He said we need
to forsake our sins (stop living in darkness) and turn to follow Christ, the
Light, in surrender to his will for our lives, because the kingdom of heaven
has come near. The kingdom of heaven is embodied in Jesus Christ. It encompasses
his life and ministry on the earth, his death and resurrection, his blood
sacrifice for our sins, his saving grace, the gospel of our salvation, his
ascension into heaven, his sending of his Holy Spirit to indwell the life of
the believer, the life of the church, his Body, the judgments at the end of
time, his return for his bride, the church, and his millennial kingdom reign on
the earth. Jesus Christ has come near.
“Follow Me”
As
Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called
Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they
were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish
for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Going
on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother
John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets.
Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and
followed him.
What does it mean to follow someone? It can mean many
things, but in this context Jesus is asking them to go where he goes and to do
what he does, and/or to do what he tells them to do, i.e. he is asking them to
make him their Lord and to obey him. For us to follow someone, in this context,
it means for us “to take the same course or go in the same direction as
something (or someone) else; to act in accordance with something, especially
with instructions or directions given by somebody else” (Encarta). When we come
to faith in Jesus Christ, by God’s grace, we are choosing to follow him
wherever he leads us. We are choosing to leave our former lives of sin behind
us, and we are choosing to go with God.
I like how it says here that at “at once” and “immediately”
they left their former ways of living to follow Jesus. There was no hesitation
that we know of on their part. They didn’t bargain with Jesus that we know of.
They didn’t try to hold on to their former ways of living and just occasionally
follow Jesus when it was convenient for them, or when they could fit him into
their busy schedules. They left it all to follow him. It was immediate. And,
they didn’t go back. And, that is how it is supposed to be when we believe in
Jesus Christ, too. We should leave our former lives of sin behind us, and we
should follow him in obedience from that moment on, and we should allow him to
teach us his ways so we can walk in his paths – all in the power and strength
and working of the Holy Spirit now within us.
Jesus told them to follow him and he would send them to fish
for people. He told his disciples, before he left this earth to return to
heaven, that they were to go and to make disciples (of Christ) of all nations,
baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything that Christ Jesus had
commanded them. He also told them that after he left he would send his Holy
Spirit to indwell them. He said that when the Holy Spirit came upon them that
they would be Christ’s witnesses to the whole world.
When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, and we have been
rescued from our lives of sin, and we have been given new lives in Christ
Jesus, we should want to tell others about God’s saving grace so that they can
come to know him, too. We shouldn’t want to keep that to ourselves. It would be
like having the antidote to a major outbreak of a life-threatening disease and us
keeping it to ourselves while we watched people die all around us. Jesus has called
us to follow him, and he is sending us out to fish for people, i.e. to tell
them about Jesus and the gospel of our salvation and to make disciples of
Christ of all people.
The Good News
Jesus
went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good
news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were
ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed,
those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. Large crowds from
Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan
followed him.
When we follow someone in this sense that we are talking
about here, it means we follow his example, and we do what he does (did). Jesus
went all over the place teaching people about the kingdom of heaven and what
they needed to do to be saved; and concerning the requirements to be one of his
followers. And he proclaimed the good news of our salvation everywhere he went.
So, what is the “Good News”?
Jesus Christ died on the cross, taking upon himself the sins
of the entire world. When he died, our sins died with him, and when he rose
from the dead, he conquered death, hell, Satan and sin. He died so that we
would no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave himself up for us (See
2 Co. 5:15). In fact, his grace teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and
worldly passions and to live self-controlled and upright lives in this present
age while we wait for our Lord’s return (See Tit. 2:11-14). He died so that we
might be crucified with him in death to sin, and so that we might be made alive
in Christ by his resurrection, and be made into new creations in Christ Jesus, “created
to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (See Ro. 6-8; Gal. 2:20;
Eph. 4:17-24).
Jesus Christ died so that we would no longer walk (in
lifestyle) in darkness (sin) but so we would walk in his Light (saving truth).
If we say we love God or that we are in fellowship with him, but we continue
(in lifestyle) in sin and we walk (in lifestyle) in darkness (sin), then we are
liars and the truth is not in us (See 1 Jn. 1-5). True grace sets us free from
slavery to sin. It does not give us a free license to continue in sin thinking
we have our ticket into heaven and so sin doesn’t matter anymore. The truly
saved will honor, respect, submit to and obey their Lord Jesus, not make
excuses for sin or feel that grace gives them the carte blanche to continue in
willful sin against God.
Jesus Christ also went about healing people spiritually,
physically and emotionally. As his representatives on this earth we are also to
have a healing ministry. Healing comes in many different forms. I believe in
the list of spiritual gifts that healing is listed as “gifts of healing,”
meaning different gifts related to healing ministry, such as prayer of faith,
laying on of hands, counseling, encouragement, etc. We are all instructed to
encourage (inspire; hearten; cheer; reassure; urge; admonish; counsel; and
exhort) one another in the faith. Yet, we should never tell lies to people in
order to make them feel better, or use false flattery to try to cheer people.
We should always speak the truth in love. We should never give people a false
hope. Jesus always told the truth. The Bible teaches that we will know the
truth, and the truth will set us free! With healing comes freedom. Amen!
He Reached Down /
An Original Work / February 3, 2014
Based off Psalm 18
How I love You, Lord,
My Rock and my
strength.
My God is my fortress;
I hide in Him.
He is my shield and
the horn of
My salvation, whom I
praise.
I have found my refuge
in Him.
He reached down from
heaven
And rescued me;
Drew me out of waters
So deep, I’d sink.
He delivered me from
Satan
And my slavery to sin;
Gave me hope of heaven
with Him.
My God turned my
darkness
Into His light;
Opened up my blinded
eyes;
Gave me sight.
As for God, his way is
perfect.
He gives strength to
stand secure.
I have found my
vict’ry in Him.
My Lord lives!
Praise be to my Savior
God,
Jesus Christ, who died
On a cruel cross.
He is my Rock and the
source
Of my salvation, whom
I trust.
I will give praise
always to Him.
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