EPISODE 10.INNER JOURNEY 1. THE PROBLEM OF PAIN – GOD’S VIEW
We are going to explore the emotional pain that distorts the created image we were born to be,
so that we can be aware of what is going on within us and
co-operate with the Holy Spirit in our healing.
WHY DO WE HAVE PAIN?
We were created to live in the Waterfall of God’s love, nourished
and sustained by having our love tanks filled to overflowing
through our relationship with the Father.
In the fallen world full love tanks do not happen and
we all carry some degree of emotional pain,
that drives us, often without us being aware of its presence.
Understanding where it comes from and how it develops allows us
to co-operate with the Holy Spirit in His ministry of healing.
GOD’S VIEW OF PAIN is very different to ours.
It was not part of life in the Garden of Eden
but when it became part of life after the Fall,
God was there for His people in their pain.
The Psalms of David speak of God’s compassion and involvement
in all the suffering of mankind and
it was His desire that we should look to Him for help.
The Father sent Jesus to die for us so that we could be healed,
He gave us the Holy Spirit as our Counsellor and guide.
All the resources of our creative, loving, powerful God
are at our disposal for the restoration of each one of us
to the image that we were created to be.
Being the God He is, He then uses that pain as a resource for the kingdom, transforming our suffering, collecting our tears,
“restoring the years the locusts have eaten”. My testimony is that He has transformed fifty years of pain
into treasures for the Kingdom that bless me daily.
He has healed my past and now I use my transformed experiences in my ministry.
It is this transformed pain that has the power to touch others
leading them to see their own need and turning them
to the only One who can save them.
Thus nothing is wasted. You will comfort others with the comfort you receive.
THE DISCIPLE AND PAIN
Our pain stops us from being who God created us to be.
The truth is that there were thousands of followers of Jesus
but only twelve disciples.
Today most of the followers of Jesus are stuck in their silent pain and
only a few are willing to face the injuries of their past.
If we are going to be the army of the King we are hampered
by having most of the army on the sick list.
PETER’S STORY
In trying to make sense of God’s view of pain the Holy Spirit showed us that the life of Peter can teach us some valuable lessons.
We are introduced to Peter in Luke 5:1 – 10.
A group of tired and despondent fishermen were
mending their nets, after a fruitless night out fishing,
when Jesus arrived on the beach surrounded by a large crowd.
Peter must have been interested but he was about to be involved
for Jesus asked if He might speak to the crowd from the fisherman’s boat.
Instead of heading off home and to bed Peter agreed and
then he was a captive audience, as Jesus ministered to the crowd.
What did Peter see in Jesus during that time? It was enough that when afterwards Jesus, the master carpenter said to him, the master fisherman,
“Go out and put down your net for a catch.” Peter replied,
“Because you say so I will do it.”
Luke 5:4
This was remarkable for what Jesus was proposing went against
all the knowledge and experience of the fisherman.
Peter knew when it was best to catch fish and
that was when he had been out on the lake.
Now was not the time but because Jesus said go, he did it.
On his return to the shore with the astonishing catch he was in awe,
he knew the natural world had been impacted
by something that was supernatural and holy.
He sank to his knees and said, “Go away from me Lord, I am sinful man.”
However, Jesus had come that day to find His team.
He had come for four men on that beach amongst the thousands,
so Jesus looked Peter in the eye and said,
“Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on the shore, left everything and followed him. Luke 5 : 10
How astonishing!
Might our response to Jesus be as wholehearted and total, as that of Peter?
REFLECTING ON THIS PASSAGE THE HOLY SPIRIT REVEALED THAT PETER’S LIFE FELL INTO THREE SECTIONS.
There was the time before that moment on the beach;
there were the three years Peter walked alongside Jesus;
and then the time after Pentecost when Peter took off
into the full power of his ministry.
This mirrors the pattern of our spiritual journey.
In THE FIRST STAGE - Peter was AN ORDINARY MAN
He was going through life doing his best with what was set before him.
He had a family and lived in Capernaum
which had the synagogue at its heart and was a vibrant community.
He was a master fisherman, running a business with his partners.
An ordinary man, born as we are into the fallen world,
bruised and battered by life but moving forward as best he might.
And then Jesus came.
Jesus set before Peter a line drawn in the sand on the beach.
On one side stood Peter’s known world, on the other side a great unknown.
On one side the God as He was known in the synagogue,
family responsibilities, the needs of a business, relationships, dreams, expectations and competences.
On the other side Jesus and a crazy adventure where nothing was known.
Peter did not know what the job was,
where he would sleep that night, what the future held,
how he would provide for his family, nothing was known.
What he did know, through those first few hours with Jesus,
was that he could trust Jesus completely for the things that concerned him.
He knew in his heart that he wanted to respond with total commitment
to the invitation in Jesus’ eyes.
Peter, when he crossed that line on the beach,
stepped into the Waterfall aligning himself irrevocably
with the will and purposes of God.
What a wonderful example of total faith in Jesus;-
So they pulled their boats up on the shore, left everything and followed him. Luke 5:11
THERE FOLLOWED THE SECOND STAGE OF HIS LIFE, THE YEARS OF DISCIPLESHIP.
Constantly in company with Jesus, Peter was transformed from the inside out.
He learned from the Master; he was healed and disciplined;
he was involved with Jesus in every aspect of life and ministry;
he learned the perspectives of God and the mind of Christ.
He travelled, ate, relaxed and was refreshed in the presence of Jesus.
He followed in trust.
Notwithstanding these experiences, he made mistakes.
He abandoned Jesus when it mattered but was forgiven and restored.
Jesus foretold it:
Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you turn
back, strengthen your brothers. Luke : 31 – 32
He went on to betray Jesus after His arrest,
denying three times that he knew Jesus.
However, after the Resurrection, Peter was restored
as he made his threefold affirmation of love to Jesus, again on a beach
and surrounded by fish.
Then he was ready.
THE THIRD STAGE – FULL MINISTRY
When the Holy Spirit fell on him on the day of Pentecost
Peter flowed into his full ministry.
As the Rock on which the church was built his life affects all of us today.
An ordinary man became extraordinary
because he followed Jesus into the Waterfall.
Let me just clarify what I mean by full ministry by looking again at Peter’s life. He did many significant things as he walked alongside Jesus.
Sharing the ministry of those three years
he was also being changed, healed and equipped.
However, he stepped into full power and significance in God’s story
in the third stage of his life after Pentecost.
In that third period of his life he fulfilled the unique ministry that only he could do. We all have full ministries waiting for us when we are ready.
SO WHAT ABOUT US? If the three part pattern is relevant to us what does it mean? Through the years I have worked helping people to come into the Waterfall To learn how to live God’s way and to become true disciples
I now believe it is true for all of us.
There is the first part of our story.
When we struggle to survive in the fallen world doing our best.
We may give our life to Christ and He will begin changing us.
But there were always degrees of commitment in those around Jesus
even within the 12.
The moment on the beach is when you decide to give all to JESUS
step into the Waterfall trusting God and letting Him have power over your life. Then Jesus puts his arm round your shoulders and
takes you into His inner circle because your now walking
the years of discipleship that Peter walked.
Then the 3rd part when you are ready and you will do amazing things for God. I bet whatever is the biggest thing you can imagine about your ministry you just haven’t scratched the surface of what God will do. Look at the impact of those disciples on our lives today. Watch this space and think BIG!!!!!!!!
AS we travel onward :
The good news is the Holy Spirit will lead us
on our own personal journey with Him.
He knows what to work on, when and how.
If we are willing, He will start from where we are
when we step into the Waterfall.
That means bringing all of your journey so far,
all your road travelled, experience and knowledge
and understanding with you. All the mistakes, All the pain.
Nothing is lost. Transformed they will resource your ministry.
Our journey to wholeness and holiness,
our living out our calling with flourishing gifts
is crucial to the advance of the Kingdom. ‘
CHALLENGE: ARE YOU WILLING TO ALLOW GOD TO DEAL WITH YOUR PAIN? Be aware that most of us have spent our lives running from the buried pain
within us. It takes courage to face your pain.
Know you can trust God and healing will bring you freedom. Will you declare to God your willingness
to let Him take you on an inner journey to wholeness?
At this stage all He wants is your willingness.
We never go digging for our pain.
It is about waiting and at the right time and in the right way
the Holy Spirit will bring to the surface the thing He wants to heal.
In the next episode we will look at an overview of the process of inner healing and later the tools the Holy Spirit has shared to help us work with Him
