Speak to Me Again, Jesus

This morning I experienced the presence of the Lord in an unusual way as my pastor was speaking about Psalm 127:1, Matthew 6:31-34, and John 21:1-19. I was taking notes and thinking about what he was saying about being "on the path," following Jesus, and how... "Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain" (Psalm 127:1). After Jesus talks about how "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other, You cannot serve God and mammon," (Matthew 6:24), and after he speaks about life being more than food and the body more than clothing, he says, "'Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?'" "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:31-34). In John 21:1-14, Jesus showed Himself to Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana of Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples together. Simon Peter said to them, 'I am going fishing.'" (John 21:1-3), "the one whom Jesus loved" (the Apostle John referring to himself) tells us about how Simon Peter says, basically, "I'm going back to work." The other disciples join him, "and that night they caught nothing." Jesus told them to cast the net on the right side of the boat, and when they did, "they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish." Then they ate fish with Jesus. This was "now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead," and this is where he asked Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" "More than these," meaning, we're not sure: more than anything, more than your work, more than these others love me? This latter is suggested in my Bible notes in my old Holman Study Bible. I think that is a feasible explanation, but it could be any of the above. And Jesus tells him, "Feed My sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry where you do not wish.' This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me." These passages speak so tenderly to us of the love of Jesus, God's Son and our Savior, and about what He calls us to. We do not know how it will all end. Christians are being slaughtered in other parts of the world in horrible ways. The only reason we aren't, I suppose, is because Christianity has been strong here and we have built a great nation that is not destined to be great much longer unless we make it our mission to follow Jesus completely and never compromise. I don't know what in particular it was that got me to crying but by the end of the message, I was just about to break down. I told my pastor's wife, "I have been on the verge of tears throughout this whole message, and I don't know why." And I didn't. All I know is that His word and His spirit were at work within me and He was healing me, of what altogether, I am not sure I could provide a complete list. It could be a number of things that are going on in my life, in this world, just about anywhere, but I know that He was there ministering to me in a very personal way and He was drawing me closer to Him and I was loving it. I wish so much that I could express all this in a way that would convey to you the miracle of His presence, but I know that many of you know. Maybe it's been a while since you've been touched that way by the Lord, maybe you never have, maybe you do so on a daily basis. This is not a contest. I just have something on the inside that is worth more than anything the world can provide, more than what most people believe life is all about and they dedicate their life to, and still end up empty. God is love and He loves us. And the more that we get hold of this, the happier we will be, and the happier we are and the stronger we are and the more we receive the healing that Jesus offers, the more equipped we will be to fulfill the Great Commission in whichever particular path God has designed for us to walk in. I don't know what particular thing you may have bearing down on your heart at this moment in time, whatever worry or concern or burden or perplexity, but what I do know is God knows all about it, and He wants to have a relationship with you. Instead of bucking and kicking and running and ducking and trying so hard just to "survive," I believe that Jesus is wanting to speak to you as He spoke to me today, not in words this time, although He does that too, but by His spirit, in His inimitable way that no one else or nothing else can do, and He makes no mistake about Who it is that is dealing with you. To know God, that is what the world needs now. Not just to know Who He is, but to Know Him personally by turning away from our own way, the way we've been doing, the way we were doing before we met Him, or the way we have always done while resisting the drawing of His spirit. We all know that we have done that, perhaps we are still doing it. That is why it is so important to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." And may you know that He has spoken to you and shown you how to respond and what is your purpose and what He is asking of you. He offers Himself for eternity and there is nothing on Earth to compare with that.