Thoughts from the Message on 3/12/17
Ministering From Dependence:
When we look at the life of Jesus and try to understand his rhythms of life it’s good to observe the kinds of places he went. He spent a considerable amount of his ministry life up around the Sea of Galilee. Geoff told a story of when he went to Israel a couple months ago and had the chance to go on a hike up Mt. Arbel overlooking the Sea of Galilee. When he got to the top of the mountain he was overwhelmed reflecting on Jesus ministry there – seeing the world that Jesus saw. Sitting in awe of who God is and what he’s done, Geoff couldn’t help but remember that Jesus spent significant time alone in places just like that reasserting his dependence on the Father.
While we all have incredibly impacting experiences with God those times don’t seem to come very often, and once they do happen it feels like we quickly forget them. In this book, Luke says 5 times that Jesus went up on the mountain to pray. In these times with God, Jesus was showing us his dependence on the His Father. In this particular instance his prayer through the night was the preclude to showing the disciples his power in healing people. The power came because of his dependence. “Power was coming from him and healing them all” because of what God wanted to accomplish through him. God wants to accomplish things through us in the same way, but we need to acknowledge our dependence on him. We can’t be fully freed to do the work he has asked of us until we fully surrender in dependence, accepting his invitation and letting him do the work.
Questions for Reflection:
Where do I need to rearrange my life to reestablish dependence on him?
What would it be like to allow the Lord to move in power through you to serve others?
What does dependence on God mean for you?
Contributed by: Sky Cady
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