Today I want to share a portion of Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost For His Highest" because it goes right along with what I shared here yesterday!
The Afterwards Of The Life Of Power
Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me now; but thou shalt follow Me
afterwards. - John 13:36
“And when He had spoken this, He saith unto him, Follow Me.” Three
years before, Jesus had said — “Follow Me,” and Peter had followed easily, the
fascination of Jesus was upon him, he did not need the Holy Spirit to help him
to do it. Then he came to the place where he denied Jesus, and his heart broke.
Then he received the Holy Spirit, and now Jesus says again — “Follow Me.” There
is no figure in front now saving the Lord Jesus Christ. The first “Follow Me”
had nothing mystical in it, it was an external following; now it is a following
in internal martyrdom (cf. John 21:18).
Between these times Peter had denied Jesus with oaths and curses, he
had come to the end of himself and all his self-sufficiency; there was not one
strand of himself he would ever rely upon again, and in his destitution he was
in a fit condition to receive an impartation from the risen Lord. “He breathed
on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” No matter what
changes God has wrought in you, never rely upon them, build only on a Person,
the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the Spirit He gives.
I LOVE Peter! Many have poked fun at Peter for being so quick to jump at things, but he WAS the only person to ever walk on water like JESUS did! Yes, he began to sink when he took his eyes off of JESUS and onto his surroundings, but many of us have done that very thing in other circumstances! Peter was basically fearless, as long as he was WITH JESUS. His faith was shook to the core when he saw his Master taken by force, when all of the other times JESUS had simply walked through and away untouched! Everyone left that night, scattered with their faith shaken! The main lesson to learn from Peter is that JESUS restored him, and when Peter was restored, he no longer had faith in what HE could do, but his faith was in JESUS alone! THAT is the message here! We can be used by God to minister LIFE to people, and then begin to assume that the source of power is US instead of the ONE Who lives IN us! That is a very subtle, yet slippery slope! Stay ever aware of Who lives IN you! Give HIM the glory, every day and all day long, a you will not fall into such a trap of the enemy! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Love So Great":
Shalom in Him!
