Hear the Call and Respond in Faith

"My eager desire and hope being that I may never feel ashamed, but that now as ever I may do honour to Christ in my own person by fearless courage."  Phil 1:20 (Moffat)

              Let us hear His call,

                              take His courage, 

                                       and respond by walking in those good works, 

which He prepared beforehand (Eph. 2:10) and are beyond all that we could ask or think, according to the power that works within us (Eph. 3:20). 

"Do not be afraid of sudden fear

Nor of the onslaught (storm) of the wicked when it comes; 

For the Lord will be your confidence (at your side)..."  Prov. 3:25,26a

Be strengthened in His love to say, "If this is You calling, be my bold confidence, strengthen me to walk in faith, and make me to walk (not to stand in terror) on my high places. If this of You, command me to 'come'."

"On the day I called, You answered me; 

You made me bold with strength in my soul." Psalm 138:3

"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word." 2 Thess. 2:16,17

Hear the call and respond in faith.

"And He said, 'Come!' 

And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus." Matthew 14:29

 May that be part of our story too.

He is My Personal Bravery

“The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army;

 He makes my feet like hind’s feet and will make me to walk

 (not to stand in terror, but to walk) and make (spiritual) progress 

upon my high places (of trouble, suffering, or responsibility)!” 

Habakkuk 3:19 Amplified Bible

       All-powerful, Almighty God, call to us, “Come!”  You, Who spoke and everything came into being, we invite You to speak into our lives today.  And give us ears to hear the One True Voice.  Call us to come out of our comfort zones and controlling strongholds.  We confess that these thoughts that 'try to keep You controllable' are lofty things raised up against the knowledge of God; they are not truth.  Convict us and help us to take these thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).  Forgive us and change us in those areas of our lives where You want to be big and mighty in us ('to walk on water'), but because of our unbelief or sin or fear, You are not able to work through us.

            We ask for your forgiveness, and we lay down all that we bow to, that is not of You- all the 'must do’s' to be worthy 'to walk on water', all of our own will, all the fears (as we look around and see the circumstances that 'feel' more real than Your truth), and all our limited expectations of what You are able to do, how You act, or how You 'should' behave.  Lord, be free to move in our lives, in Your way.

And command us to 'come to You on the water' in whatever miraculous way You have planned for each and every one of our lives. 

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:10

You are all-powerful.  You are able to enable me to do whatever You want 
IF I will let you, 

IF I will say ‘no’ to my own will and ‘yes’ to You, IF I will let you use me. IF I will say, 

"Yes, Lord.  For the sake of Your Name and for Your glory,

do with me whatever You want to do.  I will no longer dictate to You."

Church, let us no longer just say 'Yes', but let us DO 'YES'. 

         Do not allow the fear of what you 'can't' do (or what you want to do instead) keep you bound from obeying whatever He commands.  Hear His call and do not stand in terror, but walk on your high places, as He is your Strength, your personal bravery, and your invincible army even on those high places of trouble, suffering, or responsibility.  How many of us, and those around us, are feeling the weight of any one (or all three) of those, especially in the area of heavy responsibility?

May we see and KNOW Who He truly and fully IS.

“When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.  And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, 
                                   ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’” Matt. 14:32,33

Trust in the Lord

         Sadly, for most of us, if we were Peter walking on the water, the fear of what the others in the boat ‘think’ would rival the fear of the wind and the waves. 

         Don’t we step out, experience a little victory, and then find ourselves terrified as we are reminded that we CAN’T walk on water?  We begin to fear failure and concern ourselves with, or even worry about, what everyone else thinks- bad OR good.

          Are we comfortable walking on our high places, walking in the victory that we have in the power of Christ, or do we worry about how those who know us must be thinking, ‘Who do they think they are'?, 'Why do they think they’re so special to walk on water?', 
              or ‘They CAN’T do this’? 

                                And we quickly agree and begin to sink.  
What a great ploy of the enemy! May we not be unaware of his schemes. 2 Cor. 2:11

             What will it take for us to step out of the boat when He commands us to come?  And what will it take for us to KEEP WALKING in what Jesus is clearly calling us to, UNASHAMED and unfrightened by the circumstances around us and unhindered by anyone else's doubts? 

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and trust in Him alone. “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”  2 Timothy 1:7

Look to Him, the author and perfector of our faith,
               and continue to walk in the victory He died to give us-  

                  walking in the power of the Holy Spirit and not in our flesh and its fears.

Let us not focus on what others think about us and the progress that we are making on our high places,

                            BUT may we care very much about what our Heavenly Father thinks and knows about that progress. May we listen to His truth alone and trust Him.  

Care what He thinks and knows and says is true about you, bad (what needs to be changed for your good and His glory) and good (what He says is true of you in Him).

"The fear of man brings (gives) a snare, but he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted."  Proverbs 29:25

And IF it is You, ‘Command me to.........',

                 ...and You will allow me to walk on my high places.

Lord, what would YOU have me do?  You must do the calling, as I trust that with Your call comes your divine enablement.

Command Me to Come

Matthew 14:26-33

“When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’  And they cried out in fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’” 

“Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to you on the water.’”

If- he is still not sure, completely convinced- so Lord, IF it is You, command me and enable me to do what only You can do!  Lord, You ask, and I will trust that you will enable me, but I’m not going to try on my own.  You make the command: “Command me to come..”

“And He said, ‘Come!’"

 And Peter was enabled to do something that he could never have done on his own.  He was able because the Lord did the bidding and Peter responded to that command.  He walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

(Our obedience to His word and His command will always take us closer to Jesus. Be careful if in anything you 'think' you are walking in obedience yet find that it is not taking you closer to Jesus' heart.)

BUT

Seeing the wind

(Oh, that 'sight' thing, taking his focus off of Jesus and putting it on the circumstances.  "..for we walk by faith, not by sight (appearance)." 2 Cor. 5:7),

he (results): - became frightened and

                    - beginning to sink,

                                          he cried out (he did the right thing!) “Lord save me!”

“Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?'”

(Right there Jesus gives us the reason Peter did not continue walking on his high places in the midst of the storm and why we sink as well:  DOUBT.)

          Lord, whatever You want me to do, command me because I know with Your command, comes Your enabling.  But do not let me step out on my own. 

 I don’t want to live a life of little faith and much doubt.  Lord make me faithful to take the steps of obedience and keep my eyes on You and not the surrounding circumstances, as they are almost always discouraging to my steps of faith.  Protect me from unbelief and doubt.

On the ground of your word, I will do as You say.  Luke 5:5 see also Excel Still More: I Will Do As You Say: Part 5

It Is I; Do Not Be Afraid

“When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’  And they cried out in fear.” Matthew 14:26

            It may not be something as dramatic as seeing Jesus walking on water, but how many times has this scene been played out in our lives.  He shows Himself BIG (bigger than the little box that we have put Him in), and we allow it to scare us.  Or He doesn’t work in our lives according to OUR plans, and it strikes terror and complete panic within us.

 “But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’” Matthew 14:27

I must take courage and realize that even though I may not understand what He’s doing and may question His ways while I’m in the midst of fearful circumstances, He is still the same Jesus that I know and love and trust with my life and open my ears to hear Him say, ‘It is I; do not be afraid’ and take my courage from Him.

Crucified With Christ

 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Gal 2:20

          We can become so familiar with those words that we lose all spiritual sight of the weight of that statement. The Lord our Righteousness (Jer. 23:6) gave Himself up for me! 
     “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us”...

  -gave Himself so that we could go on and live however we desire in this present age?!! No! gave Himself for us-

“to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.  These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority.  Let no one disregard you.” Titus 2:11-15

“Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:11“For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.  Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.” Romans 6:5,6,7     No longer a slave to sin; live as a free man.  It was for freedom that you have been set free. Gal 5:1  Oh, what good, beautiful news. May we LIVE in the light of that TRUTH and speak and share it.

Oswald Chambers1 
"...he (Paul) does not say, 'I have determined to imitate Jesus Christ,' or, 'I will endeavour to follow Him; - but- ' I have been identified with Him in His death.'  When I come to such a moral decision and act upon it, then all that Christ wrought for me on the Cross is wrought in me.  The free committal of myself to God gives the Holy Spirit the chance to impart to me the holiness of Jesus Christ.
         '....Nevertheless I live...'  The individuality remains, but the mainspring, the ruling disposition, is radically altered.  The same human body remains, but the old satanic right to myself is destroyed.
          'And the life which I now live in the flesh..,' not the life which I long to live and pray to live, but the life I now live in my mortal flesh, the life which men can see, 'I live by the faith of the Son of God.'  This faith is not Paul's faith in Jesus Chris, but the faith that the Son of God has imparted to him-- 'the faith of the Son of God.'  It is no longer faith in faith, but faith which has overleapt all conscious bounds, the identical faith of the son of God."

"But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord."  1 Cor.. 1:30 

Oh Lord, thank you for rescuing us from the domain of darkness and transferring us to Your kingdom, in whom we have the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:13,14).  We pray for many eyes to be opened to Your truth.  We pray that you would send out workers into Your harvest (Matt. 9:36-38) and that we ourselves would take up Your call-

"...to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me."          Acts 26:17b,18  

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,2 even to the end of the age."          Matt. 28:19,20

May we not respond, 'Who am I?  I can't,'
         but humbly say "Here am I.  Send me."

1 My Utmost for His Highest: March 21

2 see also Excel Still More: I Will Be With You

Do Not Steal His Glory

Let us confess that apart from Him, we can do nothing!

Let us not steal glory that belongs to God and to Him alone.  
We, without Him, can do nothing.

Where then is boasting?  It is excluded.

Let us not boast in ourselves or how He can use us- 
rather let us boast that He can use us. 
Because with Him, all things are possible!

Oh, that our focus and motivation may all be on Him and for His glory. 

       “Am I becoming more and more in love with God as a holy God, or with the conception of an amiable Being who says, 'Oh well, sin doesn’t matter much'?  God never coerces, neither does He ever accommodate His demands to human compromise, and we are disloyal to Him if we do……Nothing can hinder God’s purpose in a personal life but the person himself…… It is extraordinary how things fall off from a man like autumn leaves once he comes to the place where there is no rule but that of personal domination of the Holy Spirit.”   Oswald Chambers

      

        Be (being) filled1- Eph 5:18- personally dominated by the Holy Spirit and abandoning all to Him, let Him lead.  Asking Him to empty you of yourself and to fill you to overflowing with His Spirit, follow close. He will lead you on level ground and enable you to walk on your high places as you seek Him first. Be in the Word and in prayer to hear your daily assignment and to partake of your daily sustaining bread.

He will lead you and guide you for His name’s sake and for His glory. (Psalm 31:3)

1 "Be filled"  Pres. imp. pass. "The idea of the word is 'control.'  The indwelling Spirit of God is the one who should continually control and dominate the life of the believer..  The present calls for a habitual and continuing action. Passive could be permissive pass.; "allow yourselves to be...:". This is further supported by imperative (command)."  From The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament.  Rogers and Rogers.