April 8, 2014: Wilderness Challenge / Follow Jesus Into Your Scary Fears! He Knows the End of Your Story!

Luke 9:37-62

Amplified Bible (AMP)

37 Now it occurred the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him.

38 And behold, a man from the crowd shouted out, Master, I implore You to look at my son, for he is my only child;

39 And behold, a spirit seizes him and suddenly he cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and he is sorely shattered, and it will scarcely leave him.

40 And I implored Your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.

41 Jesus answered, O [faithless ones] unbelieving and without trust in God, a perverse (wayward, crooked and warped) generation! Until when and how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here [to Me].

42 And even while he was coming, the demon threw him down and [completely] convulsed him. But Jesus censured and severely rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the child and restored him to his father.

43 And all were astounded at the evidence of God’s mighty power and His majesty and magnificence. But [while] they were all marveling at everything Jesus was doing, He said to His disciples,

44 Let these words sink into your ears: the Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men [whose conduct is opposed to God].

45 However, they did not comprehend this saying; and it was kept hidden from them, so that they should not grasp it and understand, and they were afraid to ask Him about the statement.

46 But a controversy arose among them as to which of them might be the greatest [surpassing the others in excellence, worth, and authority].

47 But Jesus, as He perceived the thoughts of their hearts, took a little child and put him at His side

48 And told them, Whoever receives and accepts and welcomes this child in My name and for My sake receives and accepts and welcomes Me; and whoever so receives Me so also receives Him Who sent Me. For he who is least and lowliest among you all—he is [the one who is truly] great.

49 John said, Master, we saw a man driving out demons in Your name and we commanded him to stop it, for he does not follow along with us.

50 But Jesus told him, Do not forbid [such people]; for whoever is not against you is for you.

51 Now when the time was almost come for Jesus to be received up [to heaven], He steadfastly and determinedly set His face to go to Jerusalem.

52 And He sent messengers before Him; and they reached and entered a Samaritan village to make [things] ready for Him;

53 But [the people] would not welcome or receive or accept Him, because His face was [set as if He was] going to Jerusalem.

54 And when His disciples James and John observed this, they said, Lord, do You wish us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elijah did?

55 But He turned and rebuked and severely censured them. He said, You do not know of what sort of spirit you are,

56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them [from the penalty of eternal death]. And they journeyed on to another village.

57 And it occurred that as they were going along the road, a man said to Him, Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.

58 And Jesus told him, Foxes have lurking holes and the birds of the air have roosts and nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.

59 And He said to another, Become My disciple, side with My party, and accompany Me! But he replied, Lord, permit me first to go and bury (await the death of) my father.

60 But Jesus said to him, Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and publish abroad throughout all regions the kingdom of God.

61 Another also said, I will follow You, Lord, and become Your disciple and side with Your party; but let me first say good-bye to those at my home.

62 Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.

44 Let these words sink into your ears: the Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men [whose conduct is opposed to God].

45 However, they did not comprehend this saying; and it was kept hidden from them, so that they should not grasp it and understand, and they were afraid to ask Him about the statement.
Jesus was trying to tell the disciples about his death. But they were scared so they just ignored the subject.

Jesus did this many times throughout Scripture. He would use just a few words on a topic to encourage questions. As interest was shown, He would go deeper.

In the past I put my fingers in my ears and sang lalalalalalala every time I heard something that scared me. This is exactly what the disciples were doing. Jesus tried to broach the subject of His death numerous times, but nobody wanted to hear it . It sounded upsetting and confusing. They thought their King had arrived. No way were they going to lose Him. There were rumblings in the air constantly. The authorities were unhappy with Jesus. It was becoming obvious that something not good was about to happen. 
Jesus would have gladly sat the disciples down and explained everything, but they refused to allow Him to expound on the awful subject. Wouldn't everything have been much easier for His closest companions if they would have been open to His explanation? 

Jesus wants to prepare each of us for events in our future. I really don't believe it's His will for us to be blindsided by everything. He wants to LEAD us through stuff! But if His quiet words don't fit our plans, we don't want to hear them! We change the subject quickly, don't we?

Sometimes in prayer, He plants a thought in my mind, and I dance around it. I quickly start talking about something else. And sometimes, I say, "Okay, God, I'm ready to talk about it now, I guess... sigh..." Later I'm glad we talked. Because I was ready for the thing that could have knocked me into a depression for months, had I not been prepared!

Jesus' horrific death could have been much more bearable for the disciples, had they sat and listened and asked questions. He would have walked them through everything. But they refused.

"Jesus, I want to truly walk with You. I want to listen when You are urging me to talk about my fears! I want to take You with me as I journey into the unknown. You and I can discuss my future at length! And when devastating events (normal life events, actually, right?) happen, I will be prepared! If I let You guide me through them! You want to walk before me and lead the way! You are so wonderful. Wonderful seems silly, actually. No words can describe Your beauty and greatness. You go on and on and on. Your love never fails. AMEN"