Jesus Says Come

Which means leaving all.

Jesus says come.

"But 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 heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

And Peter answered him, “Lord if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus."

We are in a storm in this country. Around the world even. Between the pandemic and now all the riots, we are in the middle of a dark and scary storm. I know we were supposed to talk about Prayer and living with God on a daily bases. We will get back to that next week. However, I am being led to say a few things on this topic this week.

There is confusion and division in our country. I will admit I am having some difficulty in forgiving the rioters, and those who have taken the opportunity of a horrific incident where some bad cops killed a man, to loot, hurt and destroy people and property. My human emotional response is that what I believe to be a fact that if someone was to step up and end one or two of these rioters, this all would end.

Is this how Jesus would see this? Would this even though may end the riots, would it end Racism? Would it improve anything? No. Would it change anything? No. Violence to stop violence may work in the present time, but it has no long-lasting effects.

No. I truly believe that if we look out toward the shore, we will see Jesus walking on the water, in the middle of every storm we have in our lives, and He is saying to us "Come."

What does this mean? Look at some of the other places Jesus in essence told people to "Come.".

"While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him." Matthew 4:18-22

Then He came to Matthew.

"As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him." Matthew 9:9

They left everything behind. Even early and worldly duties that some would see as a major necessity. Look at this in Matthew 8

"Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” 8:21-22

And here, in Luke 9:61-62

"Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”"

In every instance, Jesus says "Come," He also says leave everything behind. I want you to picture this in your head. I want you to picture standing on the edge of a field. Some distance from you is a play area. There are kids playing. You yell out "Come." What happens?

They all stop everything, drop everything, and come. Male, female, black, white, it doesn't matter. who they are. What they were doing. They stop everything and come together to come before you. This is how God wants us to come. How Jesus expects us to come when He calls us.

Yes. He wants us to leave everything. If necessary even our families. Remember what Jesus said to Peter?

"Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.” Luke 18:28-30

However, this is not all we need to leave behind. It is not only about houses, property, or even people alone, but it is also, and even more importantly, our earthly minds. This includes pride, hate, anger, fear, arrogance, and even earthly wisdom. Jesus wants us to stop what we are doing, lay them down, and "Come."

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28

To be called to follow Jesus means we need to renew our minds. We can no longer think of earthly things in earthly ways. Romans 8:5-8

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God."

Back to our story. Remember, they are on the boat, in the storm. Jesus says "Come." Peter leaves the boat to "Come" and what happens? He gets in the boat, and the storm calms and goes away. Let's also look at this in Mark 4:38-41. This time, Jesus is actually with them. A storm comes, and they fear, but He is asleep.

"But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Even though we may be in a storm. Even though it may be extremely bad in our eyes, Jesus is with us. He is walking on the water to come to all those who are in the storm. He is saying to all of us, "Come." He will calm any storm. He will renew our minds. He will give us peace. All we have to do is stop. Put everything down, and "come."

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen. {2 Corinthians 13}

Until next time, be Blessed, be a Blessing, and Jesus is Lord!