{"id":1017,"date":"2014-08-12T09:55:06","date_gmt":"2014-08-12T14:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/?p=1017"},"modified":"2014-11-25T10:11:05","modified_gmt":"2014-11-25T16:11:05","slug":"respond-step-out-and-trust-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2014\/08\/12\/respond-step-out-and-trust-jesus\/","title":{"rendered":"Respond, Step out and Trust Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Audio Link<\/a><\/strong>
\n [youtube:http:\/\/youtu.be\/lW2vcgw0pa0]<\/strong>
\n1 Kings 19:9\u201318
\nPsalm 85:8\u201313
\nRomans 10:5\u201315
\nMatthew 14:22\u201333<\/p>\n

Our God comes to us in many shapes and forms.\u00a0 God loves us and wants the best for us always.\u00a0 God loves all of humanity and wants the best for all of God\u2019s creatures.\u00a0 Do you believe that God the Father loves you, unconditionally?\u00a0 Do you believe that Jesus Christ, Son of God, God in the flesh, loves you unconditionally?\u00a0 Do you believe that the Holy Spirit loves you, unconditionally?<\/p>\n

I hope you answered yes, because it is the truth.\u00a0 This is the truth handed down throughout the Bible.\u00a0 God and the Spirit come to us.\u00a0 We as Christians look for Christ Jesus to come to us, love us, protect us, guide us and lead us.<\/p>\n

Elijah is on the run, his life is in danger and he is worried.\u00a0 He is worried sick that his life will be taken from him, not by God but by Queen Jezebel\u2019s orders.\u00a0 Elijah has decided to run for it, not because God directed him to, as God had been guiding Elijah\u2019s other actions.\u00a0 Then the Lord comes to Elijah and asks what is wrong.\u00a0 He tells him to go to the Mount Horeb.<\/p>\n

In the silence, the sheer silence Elijah encounters God.\u00a0 God says; What\u2019s up man?\u00a0 Can you hear it now, What\u2019s up man\u2026.under that greeting is, \u201cI know why you are here, I heard it from you before, I have been watching you, I told you to come to this place.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you know I love you and want the best for you?\u00a0 I just want you to know this \u2018in your heart\u2019 and respond to what I ask of you.\u201d\u00a0 Yes, all that was under God\u2019s question to Elijah.<\/p>\n

God came to Elijah and laid out the plan for him, what he is to do, what others are to do, but Elijah needs to respond and do what is asked.\u00a0 God will love Elijah no more or less if Elijah does what is asked.\u00a0 Elijah and others also know that God loves them and wants the best for them and so Elijah responds.\u00a0 Elijah needs to step out of the boat to walk on water the way Jesus challenged Peter.\u00a0 He needs to respond and trust that God has Elijah\u2019s back.<\/p>\n

The Psalmist today wants to listen to God.\u00a0 God will speak peace to the faithful and those who turn their hearts to God.\u00a0 Peace of God is nothing but the Love of God.\u00a0 Here the response is to listen and turn the hearts of people to God.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to the Romans text.\u00a0 Paul is telling us that Jesus is the Love of God for both Jew and Greek, in other words for all of humankind.\u00a0 There is a caveat of some sort here.\u00a0 How can someone know the love of Jesus without the Word being proclaimed?\u00a0 Whose lips are to be proclaiming the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ?\u00a0 Do you believe that God and Jesus love you?\u00a0 In your heart, do you know this truth?<\/p>\n

We are called to respond to the call of God to spread the good news of God\u2019s Son, Christ Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0 It is a scary thing to step out of the boat in a leap of faith and trust that Jesus: will always be there with us, guiding us, leading us to the words we need to speak, the actions we need to carry out and the call to spread the gospel. It is our mission.\u00a0 That is just it; do we love and trust that Jesus will be there?\u00a0 Just when it seems too unlikely, improbable, so impossible to do what we are called to do, Jesus is there.<\/p>\n

Mission is a scary idea to so many people.\u00a0 Mission; to care for God\u2019s children, which includes telling others of the gospel, might be frightening but the Triune God have our backs.\u00a0 Telling others of the gospel does not always have to be spoken, but can also be action and inaction as well.\u00a0 We are to be the light for the world.\u00a0 We walk in the light of Jesus but we also reflect that light and become the light for the world\u2026.if we respond.\u00a0 We could always choose to put a bushel basket over our light and not respond to our calling. (Matthew 5:13)<\/p>\n

Jesus comes to the disciples walking on water.\u00a0 Even after they all had told Jesus- that they understood the parables that he had been teaching, they still did not really understand the ramifications of who Jesus is.\u00a0 They are frightened and respond to Jesus in doubt.\u00a0 Jesus says not to fear and the reason given is, \u201cit is I.\u201d\u00a0 What Jesus really is saying here and this is where the significance of Jesus\u2019 identity really comes to light; Jesus proclaims the connection between Himself and God.\u00a0 In the Greek it is clear what Jesus says.\u00a0 He says, do not fear, it is, \u201cI am\u201d.\u00a0 I Am, the great I Am of the Jews is none other than Jesus, the Christ who in love comes to the disciples.\u00a0 The others still have doubt as well as \u00a0Peter but he is willing to follow and take that leap.<\/p>\n

Peter asks to be called out of the boat by the Lord and come to Him.\u00a0 Peter responds to Jesus\u2019 call and steps out of the boat.\u00a0 Then Peter is distracted by the world (the storm) and needs Jesus to reach out and save him.\u00a0 I am sure there has never been a time where we have been distracted.\u00a0 Distractions come in all sorts of forms; keeping us from responding to Jesus and carrying out the mission we have been given.<\/p>\n

I recently watched a movie and there was a line that stuck with me about the distractions that prevent our response.\u00a0 When we fail to respond we seem to fall into sin but it doesn\u2019t always seem like that is the case to us.\u00a0 \u201cSometimes the devil allows people to live a life free of trouble, cause he doesn\u2019t want them turning to God.\u201d\u00a0 From the movie, \u201cGod\u2019s not Dead\u201d.<\/p>\n

We have been given the freedom to respond (or not) to the missional call of God in Christ Jesus.\u00a0 Our mission is to care for the least, the last, the lost, the widows, orphans and the poor.\u00a0 Our mission is to spread the gospel, to live the gospel, to be the gospel.\u00a0 No, we cannot save, we cannot even convert, we can only choose to respond and allow ourselves to be the conduit of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 On the other hand, we can choose not to respond and live instead in sin.<\/p>\n

Another quote from the same movie that really stuck in my head regarding sin is this.\u00a0 \u201cSin is like a jail cell except it\u2019s nice and comfy and there doesn\u2019t seem to be any need to leave.\u00a0 The door is wide open.\u00a0 Until one day, it slams shut.\u201d<\/p>\n

We are called to respond to God in Christ Jesus and through the Sprit we are sent into the world, equipped to do the mission we have been called to.\u00a0 When we fail, just as Peter and the disciples did, Jesus still comes to us, calls us by name and leads us in the right direction.\u00a0 Should we be in sin, which undoubtedly we will be in sin, Jesus\u2019 light, shines in our jail cell of sin, guiding us out towards another shot at mission and relationship.\u00a0 Jesus asks us to accept His love, Trust in him and respond, so that others shall hear the Word.\u00a0 Jesus is the one who can change anything.\u00a0 Jesus is the only one that saves, not anything we can do will change that.<\/p>\n

What great news we have in Christ Jesus, who is the Son of God! Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; descended to the dead and who on the third day was raised and ascended into heaven.\u00a0 The Son, Jesus, is seated at the right hand of the Father and He will come to judge the living and the dead. We believe in the Holy Spirit and the holy catholic church and each time we partake in in Holy Communion, we commune with the saints.\u00a0 We have forgiveness of sins; believe in the resurrection of the body and everlasting life in Jesus Christ.\u00a0 In Christ Jesus, all things are possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Audio Link [youtube:http:\/\/youtu.be\/lW2vcgw0pa0] 1 Kings 19:9\u201318 Psalm 85:8\u201313 Romans 10:5\u201315 Matthew 14:22\u201333 Our God comes to us in many shapes and forms.\u00a0 God loves us and wants the best for us always.\u00a0 God loves all of humanity and wants the best for all of God\u2019s creatures.\u00a0 Do you believe that God the Father loves you, … [Read more…]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[72,21,10,34,58,83,35],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-admin","4":"post-1017","6":"format-standard","7":"category-evangelism","8":"category-faith","9":"category-jesus","10":"category-mission","11":"category-response","12":"category-sermon","13":"category-trust"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2m6h5-gp","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":989,"url":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2014\/07\/02\/acceptance-of-god-self-and-others\/","url_meta":{"origin":1017,"position":0},"title":"Acceptance of God, Self and Others","author":"Douglas Dill","date":"July 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Audio Link \u00a0 Matthew 10:40-42 In today\u2019s reading, the NRSV translation you heard today, chose to use the word \u201cwelcome\u201d in verse 40. \u201cWhoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 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