Bible Studies
“On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ ” (Mark 4:35)
Jesus is the Good Shepherd who would search for even one lost sheep. After all, the value of one soul is worth more than the whole world. Having read again the healing of the demon–possessed man in the country of Gadarenes (Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26 – 39) with the Holy Spirit as my Teacher, I felt enlightened that Jesus could for all intent and purposes had the man in mind when He said to His disciples ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’
After the exorcised demons had entered and caused a large herd of swine to plunge into the sea, the people in the region pleaded with Jesus to leave. The healed man wanted to go with Jesus but the Lord said, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” (Mark 5:19b)
Therein is the awesome possibility (or truth!) -- that Jesus had such compassion for the tormented man so as to cross over the lake by boat in the evening after a full day’s work. Salvation came to one man only on that day in Gadarenes. The man went on to proclaim all that Jesus had done for him in the region of Decapolis (Ten Cities).
There are many things we can glean from the aforesaid account, some of which are as follows:-
1. Jesus is Lord of All
As they sailed across Sea of Galilee, a violent windstorm broke out. Nevertheless, it was all bliss to Jesus, who was wakened by his disciples rather than by the turmoil of the sea. “Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:39)
Jesus knows all about us, just as He knew the plight of the demon-possessed man in Gaderenes: who we are, what we are struggling with, and what God can make out of us. Jesus said of Nathanael, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!’ Nathanael said, ‘How do you know me?’ “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” (John 1:48); Jesus spoke truth to the Samaritan woman whom He met at Jacob’s well (John 4:17,18); and Jesus saw Simon Peters’ potential and possibility, and renamed him ‘Cephas’. (John 1:42).
Jesus holds the answer for the difficulties we face, including our struggle to overcome evil. All authority has been given to Him in heaven and on earth. He beckons us to go forth in His Name to be the Salt and Light of the world. And, we can do it, knowing “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth and of those under the earth, and that every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10,11)
2. Follow Jesus
When Jesus tells us to cross over and we follow Him, we have every confidence that He is with us in the same boat. We have to be a good follower to remain in the centre of God’s will. As the song goes: ‘With Christ in the vessel, we can smile at the storm’.
As we do God’s will, stormy situations may arise. When they do, that’s the best of situations to take the bull by the horn, so to speak, and speak God’s word by faith to our circumstances. “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:23)
Jesus could well have walked on water across the lake by Himself, but He chose the company of His disciples. It was an occasion for the disciples to learn much from the Master on how to deal with the storm, the demons, and the limits of natural ability. I won’t be surprised if Jesus knew of the impending storm and was on standby.
When a reporter asked Kathryn Kuhlman, “How much time do you spend preparing for a miracle service?” she answered, “You don’t understand, I stay prepared. You don’t prepare for a service. I’m prepared twenty-four hours of the day.” Then she added, “I say to my ushers at the services, ‘Listen now, this is no time to have a prayer meeting – you come prayed up before you get here!” (page 157, Kathryn Kuhlman by Benny Hinn).
3. Be Filled with the Holy Spirit Who Glorifies Jesus
We can be a vessel whom God can use. “The eyes of God are searching the world for a willing vessel He can mightily use -- someone, anyone, who will totally yield themselves to His Holy Spirit. Will that someone be you?” (page 170, Kathryn Kuhlman by Benny Hinn.)
Before Jesus’ redemptive work upon the cross at Calvary was accomplished, ‘the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.’ (John 7:39b)God our Father has since then sent us another Helper, the Holy Spirit, to abide with us forever (John 14:16). Allelujah!
“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:13,14)
We need the Holy Spirit to understand the things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:11) And, to have the power to do what He wants us to do or become. (Acts 1:8; Ephesians 3:20) We are one with Christ in that we are in Christ and Christ by the Holy Spirit is in us. What are the visions and dreams that God has given to you by His Spirit? Pursue them by faith and keep on renewing your mind with the word of God by the Holy Spirit.
Henceforth, we are world-shakers and history-makers! It happened after Pentecost. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marvelled, And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13) It’s happening today. We are in this window of time. Let go, let God, and let's go! All glory be to Jesus.
(All Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright 1983 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
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