It's Time to Remember?

Warriors Arise, June 13th, 2020

Luke 24:28-29 (NKJV) Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. 29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.

This passage reminds me of another occasion where the disciples almost missed Jesus. In the following passage of Scripture, pay close attention where it says, "and would have passed them by." I find it very interesting Jesus sees they are in trouble, goes near them but does not go to them. He gets close enough for them to see Him, but does not flag them down. Why did Jesus not go directly to the disciples?

Mark 6:45-51 (NKJV) Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. 46 And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. 47 Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. 48 Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. 49 And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 51 Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.

• Jesus made His disciples get into the boat. He was not going with them because He needed time with the Father. He also could have reconized that His disciples were not implementing what He taught them. If He was always around then they would never do the miraculous. The first time Jesus feeds the 5,000. The second time He tells them to feed the 4,000 but they did not remember what Jesus did the first time. When He tells them to feed the 4,000 Philip tells Him it would take more than 9 months wages! Jesus proceeds to show them again. And the 4,000 were fed miraculously.

• The boat was manned by fishermen, men who knew how to row and navigate through a storm. The problem is this storm was not natural it was demonic. They were never going to overcome the storm with their natural abilities. We cannot defeat the devil and his demons if we try to do it in our own strength.

• Jesus saw them straining at rowing and the wind was against them. It would not appear in Scripture that Jesus immediately went to them. He didn't go to them until about the fourth watch of the night. Then He went to them. Why did Jesus wait? If Mark is written in chronological order then maybe Jesus was hoping His disciples would remember a similar situation. The passage from above is in Mark 6; however, in Mark 4:35-41 Jesus has told the disciples we are going to the other side, get in the boat. Jesus falls asleep. A storm comes and Jesus sleeps. The disciples are rowing and bailing out water. They wake Jesus up, "Do You not care that we are about to die!?" Jesus rebukes the winds and the waves with three words, "Peace, be still!". In Mark chapter 6, Jesus was praying before and after the disciples came into the storm. Do you think He might have been praying, "Remember! Remember, I have given You the same power God has given me. Use it!" Do you think He might have been hoping for at least one of them to remember?

• In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus comes to the disciples. Well, He doesn't come to them, He comes near them. He is about to pass them by. Why is He about to pass them by? My son runs Cross Country. When he is in a race I cannot run the race with him, but there is a lot of running. Generally, I run to different places on the course so he sees me cheering for him about 4 or 5 times during the race. Why do I do this? Even though this is his race to run, I want him to know I am there cheering him on. Somehow I think if he sees me believing in him, he won't loose heart but run to the best of his ability. Somehow, I think if he sees me, he will dig deeper and find strength he didn't know he had. Jesus didn't go straight to the disciples; He was about to pass them by.

• They thought He was a ghost. They were troubled and so He talked to them. Interesting, even when they were terrified because they thought He was a ghost; He did not go to them. He talked to them. They did not recognize Him but just maybe they would recognize His voice.

The two disciples arrived in Emmaus after they shared with Jesus the events that had taken place in Jerusalem over the last several days. They did not recognize Jesus in the flesh. As they walked, Jesus began to teach them of Moses and the Prophets and they still didn't not recognize Him. Jesus walked with them a good distance and had indicated He was going further but they constrained Him.

If we do not remember the things Jesus has taught us then how will we recognize when He is walking with us?

If we do not remember the miraculous Jesus did, then how will we recognize when we have a God-opportunity in front of us?

If we do not remember the love of God that saves us from our sins how will we recognize others need to be saved from their sin?

Being in relationship with God means we are responsible for remembering His love that saved us, His Word that empowered us, and recognize the opportunities to release the miraculous into the situations before us.

Father, I want to remember You. I want to remember You meeting with me, walking with me, taking me out of the muck and the mire and setting my feet on solid ground. I want to remember how You have intervened and gotten me out of tight situations. I want to remember how You snatched me from the enemy's clutches. I want to remember how You saved me. You have done so much for me. I am humbled and overwhelmed by Your unfailing love for me. I ask for You to open my eyes to recognize how You want to do these things for others. I pray in Jesus' name for You to come and make known Your love for others. Each one was created to be Your child. I ask for the hardness of their hearts to be softened by Your love. I ask for You to send Your Holy Spirit to remind each person You have loved, rescued from demonic control, saved from a dangerous situation, and plucked stepped from the muck and the mire. I pray their minds would be open and to see You. I ask for each one to acknowledge how You saved them. I pray for recognition to come to each person You have protected, defended, and made a way for them to be free of lies. I ask for each one to recognize You. You have never left them. I pray each one would not just return to You but to embrace Your ways in Jesus' name amen.

A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,

Veridee Joy

My hope is for believers in Jesus Christ to join together each day to pray, to push back the enemy as we release God’s power here on earth against the coronavirus. The prayers will be listed each day as Warriors Arise. I will put a date with it so we can keep them straight. If you have any questions please feel free to make a comment or private message me. If you would like this to come to your email directly please go to verideehand.com and subscribe.