Following Jesus Beyond the Jungle; For audio podcast PPN
Truth of the Spirit with Patti Brunner presents “Following Jesus Beyond the Jungle”. The simple act of following Jesus can bring you out of confusion and darkness. The continuous need for grace is always surpassed by its availability, its abundance. The Lord is at the helm. The power is His. Fear not. Follow Him.
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In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 16, verse 24, Jesus says clearly to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after Me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me”. The attempts by the ‘world’ to keep us from following God’s Will shall ever be in abundance as you walk this road to your final salvation. It is a part of the journey that takes you through the jungles of darkest need of the hearts and bodies of your fellow travelers. Why do we feel we are in the thick brush of a jungle? Our own choice to sin put us in confused darkness. But Jesus will show us the path, the road on which to travel. He says to us, “My child, pick up your feet and follow Me.” Fear not a ‘wrong turn’. The Lord has raised you to a hill top that you might clearly see the path to follow.
Welcome to Truth of the Spirit. I’m your host, Patti Brunner. Today’s episode is “Following Jesus Beyond the Jungle”. Jesus says, “Follow Me”. Where? Everywhere He goes. Everywhere He takes you. His call to you to follow him is complete. Follow Him completely. The Lord is with you always. Continue to step forward in faith. Just follow Him. The everlasting grace is available to all who call upon the name of the Lord. The Lord provides for all his children, all his followers, all his beloved. The continuous need for grace is always surpassed by its availability, its abundance.
To follow Jesus, we must accept that the path turns us away from sin. A just society provides just punishments for breaking the law. The fear of reprimand causes many to obedience. But many feel constricted by accepting morality defined by the Church. We have justified our own sin and to affirm ourselves we justify the sin of others. We don’t want to be reprimanded for our choices. Sadly, we can also believe the lie that our sin diminishes God’s love for us and so we hide from God before he can reject us and punish us. When a father fails to love, discipline becomes manipulation, training without love clouds the vision and the heart. And so we turn away from any discipline. We live the lie; we call black white and right wrong. This seems to be prevalent in today’s society.
When sin abounds, whenever there must be “correction”, it is easy to judge or condemn; it is much more difficult to show the way out of darkness. Show the way, the truth, the Light. Certainly you can do this; it is easy. Just follow Jesus. The everlasting message to the people of God is “God loves you!” The sternness of a father’s discipline is accepted by love; it can best succeed when truth is found. We forget to allow God’s love into our hearts and then allow that love to transform us away from sin towards living truth. Jesus asks you to be one with Him, to find joy rather than constriction in following the path.
Sometimes the Way of the Cross seems too hard, too harsh, but Jesus has led the way for us. His word shows us how to follow Him.The continuing needs of the people show the underlying need: for a Savior and for the restoration of the Kingdom of God in the fullness of time. Whenever you are lost, Christ can show you the Way. Follow Him. The dew on the grass reminds you that his Mercy falls gently.
Those who turn away will not be herded forcefully but will be allowed to follow their choice into darkness. The decision to follow Christ has always been yours. When Jesus explained Holy Communion to the disciples in John Chapter 6 verse 56, He said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him”, many found the teaching difficult and turned away. I challenge you to be like Peter who said, “To whom would we go? You have the words of everlasting life.”
We speak not of the despair of man but lift up the hearts to God’s fullness. For in the Way of the cross there is life, there is hope. In the tradition of the Church there are examples to follow –such as the saints. In the course of nature there is proof that God exists. And in the hearts of man there is freedom as the presence of God truly dwells there forever and ever more. The destiny you seek is not revealed, it is lived.
The heavenly realm waits for all who turn their eyes of Jesus and then follows him. The heavenly hosts exclaim Hosanna! To the King! Forever and ever! More than you can understand, more than the angels in heaven, man has been created to share the glory of God. Come. Come into the heart of Jesus and rest. Take up your cross, yes, embrace it, and find freedom. Salvation is yours, O people, O Jerusalem. It has been won by the Cross, by the Blood of the Lamb.
Truth is constant, but the daily choices of life affect even the tiniest of creatures. Indeed, God’s plan is in place yet the avenues open to man are varied and abundant. Only the turning away from God will thwart the Father’s Love. The perfect will of the Father is for you to love and be loved.
Do you feel adrift on the ocean of life? The continual listing of the boat to the side reveals an ‘out of order’ that causes the ship to sail in circles. Fear not. Allow Jesus to shift the heavy burdens in your life so as to evenly distribute and allow order, thus follow the straight path to the heavenly realm. The Lord God always sends forth His grace. The buoyancy of the boat into which you step shall carry you far and wide. You shall not fear the deep waters; you shall not cast your anchor in troubled waters.
Do you seem to be in a fog without clarity? Are you drifting? Do you long for the column of smoke and fire, which was given to Moses, to guide you in this journey? Ask the Lord to set your course, to set your sail so that you might follow the deliberate path. Come forward into the front of the boat and face the wind that blows against you—it is only the speed of the boat that makes the wind seem strong. The Lord is at the helm. The power is His. Fear not. Grace is a communication of God’s love upon your life.
I once heard Fr. John Lanzrath of the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas say that “We must know who the leader is before we can follow the leader.” In Matthew Chapter 16:13-20, Jesus asks, “Who do you say I AM?” Peter gets the answer right but then Peter gets confused and Peter tries to lead Jesus away from the cross. When Jesus responds to Peter, “Get behind me Satan”, we must realize that getting behind Jesus is the position of following Jesus. For Peter to become the leader of the Church he must first and foremost follow Jesus.
Ask Jesus to send the fire of the Holy Spirit. Then listen to the quiet voice, as the Lord invites you to step out of the boat, to go out and seek the Lord on foot. Following on foot, picking up the cross to follow Jesus is sometimes slow. When you think that you are “too good”, “too holy” to follow the Lord on foot remember St. Peter—right after he was named the head of the Church—Jesus told him “Get behind me Satan” when he chose the easy path of power rather than the Way of the Lord. Deliberate actions call for deliberate motives, carried through with a deliberate strategy. Faith can do all things—you can follow Jesus beyond “normal” capabilities. Peter walked on water—until “fear’ overcame faith in that moment. Take heart, faith is constantly renewable.
As you find the answers to the questions of life there will always be another question, another quest. When life is focused on your immediate needs, take the time to know that God is God. It is easier to seek the Creator who holds all the power in the universe in hope of cure. When Naaman became a leper—when he sought help from the God of Israel, it was without understanding of who God is. This wicked and perverse generation, too, does not know God. They have closed their eyes to truth and have accepted the creation instead of the Creator as their source of comfort and well-being. You listeners know God. You may not have Him in the center of your lives but you know the God of Abraham, the God of Moses. Follow the God who heals, who redeems, who has compassion and forgiveness, who seeks the lowly to exalt them. He is the God who knows your heart better than you know it yourself.
We can read 1 Kings Chapters 13 and 14 and see how quickly the ‘next’ generation can turn away from God, be influenced by others and lose everything. The continuance of the Kingdom of God relates to the underlying obedience and always following the lead of our Savior, always standing on the firm foundation of Christ’s sacrifice and glory. The continuity of the Church is the continuity of the Body of Christ on earth. You cannot separate an arm or a leg and thus you cannot act ‘independently’ from the body of Christ–Jesus is the head pure and simple. Those who step aside to abuse the body affect the remaining members. It is still one body but it is injured and the repair has been delayed time and again through arrogance, false teaching and misguided affection for the laws and for the simplicity of the written word.
As the Holy Spirit heals the break another reckless action endangered the healing and it was delayed. Chronic illness set in and the Body adapted to it with “antibodies” in a state of constant attack until a thick “callus” was formed so that the body, without the fullness of repair, began to function as if it were healed; each ignoring the other, each concentrating on following the head but without clear communication with the parts. Can an eye taste? Can a fingertip hear? No, indeed, and, so, the perfection planned by the Father was disrupted by the freewill of man–by the sinfulness of pride–by the destruction of true unity. The condition of the kingdom on earth is not yet perfect; it is, however, the Lord’s.
A time has come in the history of America where those who follow Jesus and His commands are greatly outnumbered by those who reject Jesus, and who have turned their face from Him. He calls His faithful servants to pray for those who would benefit by their prayers—friends, family, leaders, public officials. Prayers of intercession allow God’s grace to penetrate hardened hearts; they still have the free will to choose to turn from Him but your prayer will give them clarity in their decisions. Continue to reach out to the Lord for your own needs and desires. Place your trust in Jesus. Fear not the weaknesses of others. The inner strength to do the Father’s Divine Will—when you follow the Lord’s commands—increases.
By His stripes you have been healed. As you step into the desert your footprint shall fill with living water so that a pathway shall be made for others to follow. Fear not. Rest in Jesus. Rejoice, for this is a day of the Lord. Proclaim freedom to the captives and joy to the sorrowing. Jesus has come to bring Light to those who have stood in darkness—to those who have turned away from His Light, who know nothing of His Truth, His Word, His Love.
Fear not. Rest in Jesus. In Jesus you shall set captives free from the confines, the shackles, the restraints forged by the enemies’ deception and ignorance. The truth shall set the captives free. Be one in the Holy Spirit. Be one with the Father. Be one with Jesus, King of Kings, Lord of lords, almighty God and savior of the world.
Those who reject Jesus, who reject the Holy Spirit, who embrace other gods or rely only on self—those and also the followers who are “hibernating” continue to resist grace. Only the “supple” heart soaks in the fullness—the hardness of hearts causes grace to ricochet. The Lord shall send the slow and steady stream of grace that will break through the hearts that are ready. When torrents and floods come nothing will be unaffected. Life as you know it will change. Take heart, rejoice for many shall be saved, many will open to the Lord’s fullness. “Heaven on earth” will be the description of many who stand in the fullness of grace. What you now think is fullness of life will be revealed as the desert—in comparison.
Those who follow Jesus are marked by Baptism. Christians, as “Marked Man” are targets for those who do not accept the truth. Thus true disciples are ‘tested’ by the unbelievers—the rejecters of the kingdom. The difficulty is overcoming is fear of taking the first few steps. Be as a child—hold the hand of the Father and He will quiet your steps until you are strong enough to move quickly. When you walk in the Way of the Lord: Serving, healing, with humility and justice, you might face hardship and trial but you will always receive the final recompense—eternal life within the Kingdom of God. Those who torment you have already been judged and condemned.
The Lord God grants Mercy to all who seek him with all their hearts. Those who seek only material gain and ‘status’ are turned away. Come to Jesus with the simplicity of a child. For such a time as this you were born. For such a time as this, you have been brought forth to share the message of Salvation with the World. For such a time like this the prisoners shall form a “prison break” that ends an era of bondage. For such a time as this God’s love shall penetrate hearts of stone and shall melt them as wax. When the Lord asks, “Who shall speak my word to them?” Say to Him, “Send Me.” The instruction needed to open hearts is already within you—Open your heart to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Seek ye first the kingdom of God, resist not the grace poured upon you by the righteousness of the Lord.
The time to set your mind and heart on the Word of the Lord is come. The Wisdom of the Spirit bids you to Understanding. That which was hidden in plain view is now revealed. The depth of self is now turned inside out to allow a refreshing. That which was kept hidden—past mistakes, past denials, past acts of selfishness, past failings are now exposed to the Light of Christ and so the darkness disintegrates. Only goodness and light remain as you breathe the Holy Spirit within your hearts.
Fear not, the time is upon you to step out in faith to a ‘magnified’ degree. Exponential undertakings shall occur. The Lord has given each of you a base, a foundation. Within your realm of knowledge you know God. This exceeds the intellect in every judgment, in every decision or choice. Forget not the benefits He has given you. The gifts have been ‘tested’ and they are true.
When the Lord says “move” He wants you to say “Yes Lord” and then move. When He says “heal” He wants you to say “Yes Lord” and then heal. When He says “Write”, when He says “witness”, when He says “give” He wants your quick obedience. Know His voice, know His Way. It is your choice. The commands of the Lord are clear. The instruction in the Way has been the core of your lives these many years. Fear not for He is with you to the ends of the earth. He provides all that is needed. He provides all the people you shall call upon and who you shall reach out to in His Name. Build His Church; bring His Body to the fullness of well-being. Fear not. God is with you.
The Church teaches truth. The opinions of Man have kept the fullness of truth from those who seek the Lord’s face and have brought confusion. Seek His face and banish all “opinion” that is contrary to truth. God reveals to His prophets, God reveals to His Church, God reveals in scripture, God reveals in the hearts of man. Truth is truth and does not contradict. When eyes are opened you shall see clearly the Lord’s Truth. Call upon the scriptures revealed in fullness with understanding.
Continue to walk in His ways; if you do not know the Way, learn it; if you cannot find the Way, ask for help; if you cannot follow the Way, repent.
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