{"id":281,"date":"2020-07-06T12:11:09","date_gmt":"2020-07-06T12:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ubenjamin.com\/?p=165"},"modified":"2020-07-06T12:11:09","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T12:11:09","slug":"he-goes-ahead-of-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubenjamin.com\/index.php\/2020\/07\/06\/he-goes-ahead-of-you\/","title":{"rendered":"He goes ahead of You"},"content":{"rendered":"

January 15, 2008<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Matt 26:32<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Jesus told his disciple\u00a0\u201cAfter I have risen I will go ahead of you into Galilee.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>and He did! if you ask me, I can tell you,
\n\u2018He goes ahead of us\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

He goes ahead of us to restore us back to our calling:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Why was Jesus going to Galilee ahead of His disciples? Galilee was the home town of Peter and other disciples and they went back to it after all those things that happened in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Peter\u2019s spirit was at the lowest. He had denied the Lord. The feeling of guilt was nagging him. He didn\u2019t feel like calling himself a disciple any more. He could not walk with his head lifted up any more. In Galilee, he decided to quit and go back to his old life, fishing! How often we find ourselves in similar situations. We fail. Then the devil comes and tells us \u201cGive up. You are not worthy to serve Jesus\u201d. We want to give up and go back to our old life.<\/p>\n

Throughout that night Peter and others toiled but they got nothing in their nets!!! Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore. They did not recognize Him. In fact, they did not expect Him there! He spoke to them and told them to cast their nets to the right side of the boat. A miracle happened! Their nets caught 153 big fish and it was so heavy they were unable to haul it.<\/p>\n

Peter immediately realized it was Jesus! They all knew He was the Lord! Only He could do such miracles; multiplying bread and fish, opening blind eyes and raising the dead. Do we have to go back to our old lives because our hearts are sour with all our failures and disappointments? No!<\/p>\n

Three times Jesus asked Peter the heart probing question if he loved Him. Peter was humbled. Of course, he loved Him! I think Jesus gives us the opportunity to repent and confess our sins and failures to receive His forgiveness. When Jesus asked Peter thrice, Peter\u2019s heart must have been broken. When Peter replied with tears \u201cLord you know that I love You\u201d I think, there was repentance and there was confession. Jesus said to him the second time \u201cFollow Me\u201d.<\/p>\n

Peter\u2019s faith was restored! His calling to the ministry was restored!! He will no more be \u2018Simon\u2019, the feeble reed. Jesus had called him to be \u2018Peter\u2019 the rock and that is what he will be!! Jesus has restored him!!!<\/p>\n

He wants to restore us to our calling; He does not want to cast us away. He wants us to love Him, to follow Him and to serve Him. He who has called us is faithful. God\u2019s gifts and His call are irrevocable! Rom.11.29.<\/p>\n

He goes ahead of us to prepare things for us.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

When Peter and others landed on the shore there was fish on a fire of burning coals and some bread. Jesus had prepared their breakfast. How much He loves us and cares for us! He prepares things for us beforehand.<\/p>\n

It is written \u201cNo eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him\u201d. 1 Cor.2. 9.<\/p>\n

The land that was promised to Abraham was not an afterthought of God when He called him out of Ur. He had already prepared it. God\u2019s people had to go and possess it. There were strong and powerful enemies on their way. But God had already prepared the victory for them. God told Moses, \u201cI am sending an Angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared\u201d Ex.23.20. They defeated every enemy on the way. The Psalmist says in Psalm 23.5. \u201cYou prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows\u201d. God has every blessing already prepared for us. All blessings are Yea and Amen in Jesus Christ!!! He says, \u201cI will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go\u201d. Josh. 1:9<\/p>\n

He goes ahead of us to make a way for us.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I love the story of God\u2019s people crossing the red sea. It a fantastic demonstration of God\u2019s redeeming power. It thrills to read how God\u2019s power parted the Red Sea when there was no way for God\u2019s people to go when Pharaoh\u2019s mighty army was closing in to annihilate them. But God was going ahead of His people and the Red Sea had to give way. God will make a way where there is no way!!! The One who breaks open the way will go before us!!! Micah 2:13. He knows the way and He is the WAY!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

January 15, 2008 Matt 26:32 Jesus told his disciple\u00a0\u201cAfter I have risen I will go ahead of you into Galilee.\u201d\u00a0and He did! if you ask me, I can tell you, \u2018He goes ahead of us\u2019. He goes ahead of us to restore us back to our calling: Why was Jesus going to Galilee ahead of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[94],"class_list":["post-281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-restoration","tag-tuesday-series"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ubenjamin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ubenjamin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ubenjamin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ubenjamin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ubenjamin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ubenjamin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ubenjamin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ubenjamin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ubenjamin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ubenjamin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}