28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come
Put yourself in that Position. You've seen the person you need to access your miracle, that person is Jesus. You ask him whether it is really him. Jesus, replies with that one word 'Come'. What do you do, Will you forget all your troubles and your struggles and go and follow or will you stay behind until your life is perfect before you follow.
Are you Available?
I want to use the three times when Peter encountered Jesus as my basis for what I want to share. I believe that it will share some light at what God wants us to realise when he says 'Are you Available'
The first time Peter encountered Jesus was when Jesus used his boat to do a little preaching and share the glory. Jesus came to Peter in the midst of his trade of being a fishermen. God will always find a way to present himself in what you are doing. At the end, Jesus said to Peter, down your nets, follow me and I will make you fishes of men. I'll give you everything you need. It's attractive, God can see the potential and is willing to work with you at the place you are now. Maybe where you are now, it could be teaching, singing, retail, football or even writing, is that platform ready for when Jesus wants to use it. Will you be willing to allow God to enter your place of work or business and express his love?
The 2nd time Peter encountered Jesus was when Peter and his fellow disciples were in the middle of a storm. Jesus appeared on the shore, Peter called out to him. Jesus responded and what happened next literally blew the mind of Peter.
You have been searching high and low, you are in the middle of a storm, unshakable, unsteady, the conditions aren't safe, you are hoping for a saviour. In the middle of your storm, Jesus rocks up and says 'Come'. Will you Step out of the storm and allow Jesus inside to calm down your storm?
Maybe your going through a career change or you are experiencing stagnation in your business, you might even be going through some troubles no one knows about. Will you be available and allow Jesus to calm down the situation?
The 3rd time Peter encountered Jesus was just after Jesus rose from the Grave. Peter is a lil confused, so he goes back to know what he does best - Fishing. His Fellow Disciples decided to follow and go fishing as well. They were fishing all night but yet they had caught nothing. In the Morning, Jesus saw how tired they were, how unproductive the night was so he decided to ask them a question. He asked whether they had caught anything or not. So Peter says no but then Jesus tells him to look in the other direction and then told him to bring what he had to the shore. At that moment, what Peter had been craving was on the shore, it was with Jesus all the time.
You've been praying for weeks, months, years for a miracle. You've gone on numerous fasts, gone to many conferences searching for a miracle. Jesus then shows up and says to go with him, he wants to show you something. Do you follow or carry on searching? Are you available?
In the three scenes, the three encounters, Jesus came to Peter and showed him some signs which indicated that Peter should trust in him and follow him. Maybe Jesus wants to see whether Peter is available. Yes, whether Peter is available. Remember, Peter was a fishermen, it's all he knew. If anybody could catch fish, ask Peter but lately Jesus had been dealing with him. Would Peter down his trade, shut up shop and follow Jesus.
We all have business plans and dreams that we want to pursue but sometimes it don't go the way you planned. You try to figure out just what it is that you need to move to the next level. Is it Finance, a business partner or rip up your plans and pack it all in. Jesus may just want to use your business as a way of releasing his glory, he may want you to start a blog and start imparting glory to his people and win back the lost souls, maybe he wants you to start a music company and start a praise and worship team and just praise him everyday, maybe he wants you to go into teaching and start teaching people about his glory or maybe he wants to go into partnership with you and create something new. Whatever it is, will you make yourself available so he can use you for his glory and for his kingdom
So, Now, Let's look at this in the reality form.
A Man Has a Business which had been doing ok, its floating above board but disaster strikes, the storm hits. You literally have 24 hours to find a solution or you have to shut up shop and give it up. You get on your hands on your hands and knees and pray like never before and all of a sudden, in the midst of your storm, Jesus shows up. He says, allow him to take control, let him direct the ship and he will save your business.
What exactly do you do at that point. I'd imagine you would say something like 'Why not' or maybe something like 'Is this to good to be true'. At that moment you're desperate for anything, Jesus has said that he has everything you need and more. If only you reposition your business and make it about him, it will then produce fruits.
So, Morning comes, you take Jesus up on his offer and to your amazement he has taken care of your worries. The threat of closure has been removed and the administrators have handed control back to you.
Your Business then starts to attract worldwide clients etc but really Jesus is at the centre of it all, orchestrating things from the back, from behind the scene. Basically like the director
After all that, would you acknowledge him and follow him? Would you make yourself available to him?
The very person you need to access your miracle is standing in front of you. He tells you to come. Are You Available? Will you be willing to give up everything or maybe reposition your dream so you can be available to God.
What would you say? Would you check your diary or check your phone calendar or even tell him to come back another day because you have to watch Eastenders or Hollyoaks or would you leave everything behind and follow him and find out what he has in store for you
Now, lets see this again
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come
Will you stay or Will you Go?
Are you Available?
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