Faith is a response
Matthew 4:18-20 (NKJV)
And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
Again, let us consider the power our responses have by considering the response of these young men who started the day as fishermen and ended the day as disciples of Jesus who would change the world.
What was it that changed their whole lives in a moment? Yes, it was about God making His intentions known to them, but it was equally about them responding in faith to God's word and stepping out into the unknown. Faith is a due response and remember, it is a response that always brings God pleasure (Hebrews 11:6).
So for them it was a day like any other. They are busy doing what they had always done when Jesus turns up and drops God's divine intention for their lives into their laps. There is no two-day seminar with PowerPoint and Q & A over an evening meal - just a single moment where a response was needed to activate a brand new life offer. They could have turned to Him and said, "That's great, but a bit scary, thanks, but no thanks", and Jesus would have turned and walked on. They didn't do that but instead they perceived that this was a God moment and responded to it with faith, not reason, and went with it. Remember, this is exactly what Abraham and so many of the Bible heroes did. Abraham was also living a normal everyday life when God's intentions turned up out of nowhere and he had a choice whether or not to respond to them correctly – a whole new life started for him as he stepped out by faith into a whole new, mapless pilgrimage of faith.
God's intentions will always come to pass and if you say "No" He will use someone else. The annoying thing about this is that you get to see it happen and have to deal with the fact that it could have been you because that was your offer. Don't miss your God moments. I believe that God prepares our hearts for these moments of challenge prior to His arrival. We do not know what is going to happen but we know something is about to. Make sure you are ready, like the disciples and Abraham, for God to arrive out of nowhere and offer you some of His great intentions. Make sure that you are not like the rich young ruler who thought he was ready for his moment but when it came, he was not. He couldn't see beyond his present life of riches and privilege to that bigger, unseen life that Jesus was offering. When you, by faith, respond correctly to God, you always end up with more than what you imagined or came for.
Let's finish today by thinking again of the returning leper
Luke 17:19
Then He said to him, "Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you."
Champion, look at this: he never came to get saved. He was a Samaritan and he came to get healed. He left healed and saved. When you respond correctly to God, you don't just leave with what you came for but also with what you never believed was possible!
RSVP. You will be glad you did.
Andy
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